Ancient Extract: T. rex fossil yields recognizable protein
By Sid Perkins
New analyses of a Tyrannosaurus rex leg bone reveal that the fossil, which is 68 million years old, preserves substantial remnants of proteins. The chemical makeup of the protein fragments adds to earlier evidence that modern birds are closely related to dinosaurs.
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Most animal fossils include only hard body parts, such as teeth and bones, and until recently, few paleontologists dared hope that soft tissues could survive in long-dead remains. Recently, however, a team of researchers—including Mary H. Schweitzer, a paleontologist at North Carolina State University in Raleigh—extracted soft, pliable tissue from the fossilized leg bone of a T. rex (SN: 3/26/05, p. 195: Old Softy: Tyrannosaurus fossil yields flexible tissue).