For the first time, scientists have been able to sequence a protein from a dinosaur fossil: a T. rex femur, to be exact. Until now, the oldest protein ever sequenced was from mammoth fossils less than 100,000 years old, but a new technique developed at Harvard University, and the surprising persistence of collagen in the 68 million-year-old dinosaur bone, allowed researchers to decode seven sequences. Comparisons with sequences from some modern animals reveal the greatest similarity with chickens, adding to the evidence that birds evolved from dinosaurs. The researchers hope that the methods used in the study can also be used to help bone cancer patients.
Source: Nikhil Swaminathan, 2007. Was T. Rex Really King of the Lizards or Just a Big, Carnivorous Chicken? Scientific American, April 12.