Very OT: T-Rex LIVES!!!

[BumbleBeeDave]

This has nothing whatsoever to do with cycling, but I saw this on the wire today and my jaw is still dropped to the floor. It's seventy-five MILLION years old! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Jurassic Park, here we come!

BBDave

_____________________________

** EMBARGOED UNTIL 2:00 PM EDT ** These undated photos provided by the journal Science show demineralized fragments of tissues lining the marrow cavity of a Tyrannosaurus Rex femur. Photograph A shows the demineralized fragment is flexible and resilient and when stretched (arrow) returns to its original shape. Photograph B shows the demineralized bone in (A) after air drying. The overall structure and functional characteristics remain after dehydration. Photograph C shows regions of demineralized bone showing fibrous character (arrows). These characteristics are not normally seen in fossil bone. Scientists who had to break a dinosaur bone to remove it from its sandstone location say they have recovered 70-million-year-old soft tissues from inside the bone. The find included what appear to be blood vessels, and possibly even cells, from a Tyrannosaurus Rex. (AP Photo/Science)

[weisan]

BBDave, naw, you are kidding right, those are just some chums left behind from William's bassett.

[SGP]

Researchers in the artic recently defrosted bacteria cut from the wall of an ice tunnel, it lived when thawed! (I found the article on CNN.com 's science section) I do not recall the specifics but the age of the ice was @ 50,000 years.

This is the stuff of X files.

H.G. Wells wrote that he retired from writing because reality had out paced his imagination.

[spatz]

Oh my goodness... thats very bad news indeed! So what, 25 years from now I can look forward to somebodies unrestrained pet T-Rex to come peeling out of their yard and chase me down the road chomping at my heals? Perhaps as ethical cyclists we should mount a preemptive attack on this unspecified scientific facility ala "Terminator 2" style and kill this while we still can! *grabs his mini-gun* :D

spatz :)

[Kevan]

but it seems BBD has found a new dinosaur to play with.

You never mind him, that's right... you're still my favorite. :D

[BumbleBeeDave]

It's nothing but a giant OSTRICH, according to the scientists!

BBD

________________________

®BC-T-Rex Tissues, Bjt, 1st Ld-Writethru,670ßÅ
®Scientists recover preserved soft tissue from ancient dinosaurßÅ
®Eds: AMs.ßÅ
®AP Photo WX103ßÅ
®By RANDOLPH E. SCHMIDßÉ
®Associated Press WriterßÉ
WASHINGTON (AP) _ For more than a century, the study of
dinosaurs has been limited to fossilized bones. Now, researchers
have recovered 70-million-year-old soft tissue, including what may
be blood vessels and cells, from a Tyrannosaurus rex.Ñ
If scientists can isolate proteins from the material, they may
be able to learn new details of how dinosaurs lived, said lead
researcher Mary Higby Schweitzer of North Carolina State
University.Ñ
"We're doing a lot of stuff in the lab right now that looks
promising," she said in a telephone interview. But, she said, she
does not know yet if scientists will be able to isolate dinosaur
DNA from the materials.Ñ
It was recovered dinosaur DNA _ the blueprint for life _ that
was featured in the fictional recreation of the ancient animals in
the book and film "Jurassic Park."Ñ
The soft tissues were recovered from the thighbone of a T. rex,
known as MOR 1125, that was found in a sandstone formation in
Montana. The dinosaur was about 18 years old when it died.
The bone was broken when it was removed from the site.
Schweitzer and her colleagues then analyzed the material inside the
bone.
"The vessels and contents are similar in all respects to blood
vessels recovered from ... ostrich bone," they reported in a paper
bring published Friday in the journal Science.
Because evidence has accumulated in recent years that modern
birds descended from dinosaurs, Schweitzer said she chose to
compare the dinosaur remains with those of an ostrich, the largest
bird available.
Brooks Hanson, a deputy editor of Science, noted that there are
few examples of soft tissues, except for leaves or petrified wood,
that are preserved as fossils, just as there are few discoveries of
insects in amber or humans and mammoths in peat or ice.
Soft tissues are rare in older finds. "That's why in a
70-million-year-old fossil it is so interesting," he said.
Matthew Carrano, curator of dinosaurs at the Smithsonian's
National Museum of Natural History, said the discovery was "pretty
exciting stuff."
"You are actually getting into the small-scale biology of the
animal, which is something we rarely get the opportunity to look
at," said Carrano, who was not part of the research team.
In addition, he said, it is a huge opportunity to learn more
about how fossils are made, a process that is not fully understood.
Richard A. Hengst of Purdue University said the finding "opens
the door for research into the protein structure of ancient
organisms, if nothing else. While we think that nature is
conservative in how things are built, this gives scientists an
opportunity to observe this at the chemical and cellular level."
Hengst was not part of the research team.
John R. Horner of the Museum of the Rockies at Montana State
University, said the discovery is "a fantastic specimen," but
probably is not unique. Other researchers might find similarly
preserved soft tissues if they split open the bones in their
collections, said Horner, a co-author of the paper.
Most museums, he said, prefer to keep their specimens intact.
Schweitzer said that after removing the minerals from the
specimen, the remaining tissues were soft and transparent and could
be manipulated with instruments.
The bone matrix was stretchy and flexible, she said. Also, there
were long structures like blood vessels. What appeared to be
individual cells were visible.
She did not know if they were blood cells. "They are little
round cells," Schweitzer said.
She likened the process to placing a chicken bone in vinegar.
The minerals will dissolve, leaving the soft tissues.
The research was funded by North Carolina State University and
grants from N. Myhrvold and the National Science Foundation.
___
On the Net:
Science: http://www.sciencemag.org Museum of the Rockies: http://museum.montana.edu/

[William]

BBDave, naw, you are kidding right, those are just some chums left behind from William's bassett.

Shhhh! Weisan, I just sold some Basset chums to a couple of scientists from the Journal of Science. Told them they were demineralized soft tissue from a T-Rex. Ha!;)

Recomended reading:
The Dinosaur Heresies by Robert T. Bakker.

My son is studying dinosaures in school. We were looking over that book which is in my library.

William

[weisan]

Shhhh! Weisan, I just sold some Basset chums to a couple of scientists from the Journal of Science. Told them they were demineralized soft tissue from a T-Rex. Ha!;)

Recomended reading:
The Dinosaur Heresies by Robert T. Bakker.

My son is studying dinosaures in school. We were looking over that book which is in my library.

William

William, you think my doggy would grow to like some of your basset's dinosaur cookies? If so, I would like to order 20 pounds, please.

http://alicehui.com/serotta/troika/1.jpg

[William]

William, you think my doggy would grow to like some of your basset's dinosaur cookies? If so, I would like to order 20 pounds, please.

Regular or extra protien?

William ;)

Nice looking dog!

[keno]

I see T Rex and BANG A GONG comes up. I refuse to be Blinded By Science.

keno

[William]

I refuse to be Blinded By Science.

Wear your Sunglasses at Night?

William

[Too Tall]

Whatever, as long as the lawyer gets snapped up in the first 30 mins. I'm happy.

[christian]

Oh, and I just thought this was the explanation for the proliferation of long headtubes and high bars.

"Hmmm, you have a 192cm pubic bone height, but only 80cm arms. You may need to consider going custom."

- Christian