25 April 2008

Research Establishes Link Between Dinosaurs & Birds

4 out of 5 dentists agree that birds evolved from dinosaurs. The way to prove this is with DNA but unfortunately dinosaur DNA is pretty hard to come by.

Apparently, there is another way as shown by this research: protein analysis. The scientists analyzed protein from a T. Rex and compared it to modern birds. The result:

...molecular analysis of a shred of 68-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex protein – along with that of 21 modern species – confirms that dinosaurs share common ancestry with chickens, ostriches, and to a lesser extent, alligators.

And furthermore...

The scientists also report that similar analysis of 160,000- to 600,000-year-old collagen protein sequences derived from mastodon bone establishes a close phylogenetic relationship between that extinct species and modern elephants.

Two questions: Does T. Rex taste like chicken, and is there a link between Ken Hamm and modern humans?

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