Dinos' DNA Demise: Genetic Material Has a 521-Year Half-Life

Researchers claim DNA has a half-life of 521 years . So claims of DNA extracted from dinosaurs and ancient insects trapped in amber are incorrect .

A new analysis confirms the widely held suspicion that DNA from dinosaurs and ancient insects trapped in amber cannot be recovered to make a 'Jurassic Park'-style theme park

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

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

The team predicts that even in a bone at an ideal preservation temperature of −5 ºC, effectively every bond would be destroyed after a maximum of 6.8 million years.The DNA would cease to be readable much earlier — perhaps after roughly 1.5 million years, when the remaining strands would be too short to give meaningful information.

Link : www.scientificamerican.com...

reply to post by Octagon

....examined 158 DNA-containing leg bones belonging to three species of extinct giant birds called Moa...

So they checked one type of organism and labelled the entire DNA half life? the "few" researchers are not enough to label that as fact.

i will wait until further test are done by many different scientist and on different organisms, including DNA preserved in ice and different environment... before disclaiming things.

reply to post by Octagon


translation:
They have DNA from dino but dont want others to