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Article: Protein identified in dinosaur fossils. (osteocalcin could not be isolated in research, but may be oldest protein) (Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- October 3, 1992
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1992 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A team of molecular biologists and paleontologists has identified a protein preserved in dinosaur bones, opening up the possibility of using ancient molecules to help sort out the controversial relationships among dinosaurs and other vertebrates.
Scientists have long considered it highly unlikely that they would find proteins in material more than a few million years old, because such organic molecules usually decay far sooner. Yet several research teams in the past few years have reported detecting proteins in very old fossils, including dinosaur bones (SN: 5/4/91, p.277). In the dinosaur case, however, the researchers did not know which proteins they had ...