Professor George Poinar Jr., a famous paleontologist from the Oregon State University who inspired the Jurassic Park books and films said that bringing back the dinosaurs using the DNA encased in amber could also bring back diseases, perhaps the prehistoric form of COVID-19.
Poinar recently discovered a new species of a flower that existed some 100 million years ago encased in fossilized amber. He said that the 'de-extinction' of prehistoric plants would probably be much easier by getting DNA from the fossilized amber.
Scientists Cautions Bringing Back Dinosaurs Could Bring Back Deadly Diseases
For many years, the notion of de-extinction has hovered on the scientific fringes, especially with the invention of new techniques, like the CRISPR-Cas9 revolution. Some scientists are seriously considering this option to use in bringing back the woolly mammoth, and the passenger pigeon, according to Science Magazine's report.
Poinar said that scientists can bring back partial dinosaurs using the DNA encased in fossilized amber, but mix it with the DNA from present-day reptiles and birds because there might be no enough dinosaur DNA viable for the experiment.
Amber is a hardened resin from ancient pine trees that varies in color from yellow to reddish or brownish. Scientists have found hundreds of fossilized species of insects and plants that have been trapped and fossilized in amber.
However, Poinar said that it might not be right to bring back dinosaurs to life because they could carry the prehistoric version of COVID-19, Zenger reported. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 and believed to have come from bats, is currently wreaking havoc on the whole world by infecting millions of people and disrupting the economy.
Moreover, Science Magazine reported that the limited conservation funding might not be enough if prehistoric animals will be brought back to life.
On the other hand, Poinar noted that it might be easier to get DNA from fossilized amber of prehistoric plants than that of an animal. But it still depends on how degraded the DNA of the plant. If it is still not degraded, then it might be possible.
Poiner Found A 100-Million-Year-Old Flower Encased in Amber
Poiner found a 100-million-year-old piece of amber containing the oldest evidence of sexual reproduction in a flowering plant, wherein one out of 18 tiny flowers is already in the process of making new seeds for the next generation, according to the article released by the Oregon State University.
The flower is unlike any flower known today with a structure and arrangement of its anthers that are different from modern flowers. The flower is named Valviloculus pleristaminis.
Splendid flower trapped in amber 100 million years ago reveals its beauty.......... it ' s a beauty, especially since it was part of a forest that existed 100 million years ago, " amber expert George Poinar Jr. , professor emeritus at OSU, said in a statement this week. pic.twitter.com/RjhC45caJx
— shwedor (@d_shwedor) January 3, 2021
According to Poinar, the flower is encased in amber found on an ancient supercontinent known as Gondwana before it travels to a continental plate across the sea about 4,000 miles to what is now Australia to Southeast Asia.
"The region in the Southern Hemisphere, including Antarctica, South America, Africa, Madagascar, Australia-New Guinea, and New Zealand, as well as Arabia and the Indian subcontinent of the Northern Hemisphere were included in Gondwana or Gondwanaland. It was a supercontinent that existed between 500 and 180 million years ago," stated the research article published by the Earth Sciences Department at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Poiner identified the flower as an angiosperm that evolved and diversified over 100 million years ago.
Check out more news and information on Paleontology on Science Times.
