Half-Life of DNA is 521 Years, Jurassic Park Impossible After All 315
another random user writes with this quote from Nature News:
"Few researchers have given credence to claims that samples of dinosaur DNA have survived to the present day, but no one knew just how long it would take for genetic material to fall apart. Now, a study of fossils found in New Zealand is laying the matter to rest — and putting paid to hopes of cloning a Tyrannosaurus rex (abstract). After cell death, enzymes start to break down the bonds between the nucleotides that form the backbone of DNA, and micro-organisms speed the decay. In the long run, however, reactions with water are thought to be responsible for most bond degradation. Groundwater is almost ubiquitous, so DNA in buried bone samples should, in theory, degrade at a set rate. Determining that rate has been difficult because it is rare to find large sets of DNA-containing fossils with which to make meaningful comparisons. To make matters worse, variable environmental conditions such as temperature, degree of microbial attack and oxygenation alter the speed of the decay process. By comparing the specimens' ages and degrees of DNA degradation, the researchers calculated that DNA has a half-life of 521 years. That means that after 521 years, half of the bonds between nucleotides in the backbone of a sample would have broken; after another 521 years half of the remaining bonds would have gone; and so on."
Someone forgot to tell these guys (Score:4, Funny)
Russian and Korean Researchers Will Inject Mammoth DNA Into Elephant Eggs, Resurrecting 10,000-Year-Old Beast [popsci.com]
But what about... (Score:1, Funny)
A mosquito that bit a dinosaur encased in amber....
Mammoths? (Score:4, Funny)
The hell with dinosarurs... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The hell with dinosarurs... (Score:5, Funny)
Isn't he already older than 521 years? I suspect his DNA is suspect as it is.
Re:Ummmm (Score:5, Funny)
News for nerds (Score:4, Funny)
But we're going to explain to you how half-lives work anyways.
Hmm (Score:5, Funny)
I wonder if 521 years is how long we'll be waiting for Half Life 3?
Ladies and gentlemen.. (Score:5, Funny)
Sorry, it just doesn't have the same ring to it.
Re:But what about... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:But what about... (Score:4, Funny)
A mosquito that bit a dinosaur encased in amber....
Forget that. I'd like to see the tree that generated the sap to encase a dinosaur in amber. :-)
Re:Not impossible (Score:5, Funny)
OK. I just showed my computer a picture of a Komodo Dragon. It just is sitting there, doing nothing.
Now what am I supposed to do?
Re:But what about... (Score:5, Funny)
Why is the parent modded 'Funny' - that is the story behind how the scientists in Jurassic Park found dinosaur DNA...
You just explained why it's funny.
Re:But what about... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Ummmm (Score:5, Funny)
The half-life of unusual British phrases in the US is less than 18 years.
Re:But what about... (Score:3, Funny)
Yes, he's sure. No Jesus riding Velociraptors on Slashdot, please.
Re:So wait... (Score:4, Funny)
It's 98% chicken DNA,
With 2% Samuel Jackson mixed in to make it a Bad Ass Mother Fucker.
Re:Someone forgot to tell these guys (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, but back then we called them 'Safety goggles'. They had a precursor to a holographic UI called 'scratches'. It worked much the same in practice.
-Charlie
Re:Someone forgot to tell these guys (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Someone forgot to tell these guys (Score:5, Funny)
Hey now there's no need to exaggerate, Gabe said HL3 will be done when it's done.