Dinosaur DNA Denial
Friday, August 1st, 2008Back in March of 2005 it was announced to the world that Mary Schweitzer, NC State paleontologist, had discovered soft tissue within the thighbone of a 70 million year old Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil. This astounding discovery threatened to turn the scientific world on its head.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex is a massive dinosaur that was over 43 feet in length and was estimated to weigh around 15,000 pounds. This fearsome creature inhabited many parts of the world an estimated 65 to 70 million years ago.
The discovery of soft tissue in a Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil has forced scientists to rethink the whole process of fossilization. It also makes the estimated age of 65 to 70 million years difficult for most people to believe. Some people are citing this soft tissue as proof that the dinosaurs are not nearly as old as is currently estimated.
A few years after the discovery of this soft tissue scientists, successfully sequenced the DNA. As long suspected, it was found that the T-Rex was part of the bird family. Specifically the DNA closely matched that of a modern day chicken.
In what may be a case of trying to change the evidence to fit the current theory, some scientists are now questioning the source of this soft tissue, suggesting that it may instead be bacteria. The problem with this idea is that bacteria would not have DNA resembling that of a chicken.
When presented with evidence that contradicts long held beliefs, many scientists will attempt to dispute the new evidence rather than question the long held beliefs. In this case, 65 or 70 million year old soft tissue is very difficult to believe. Some are now saying that this soft tissue cannot be from a T-Rex because it is impossible for tissue to remain soft for 65 to 70 million years, it certainly cannot be that the current estimated age of the Tyrannosaurus Rex is incorrect.
Is it possible that these dinosaurs roamed the earth much more recently than is currently thought? Since it is a known ‘scientific’ fact that the bones are at least 65 million years old and radio carbon dating is only accurate to around 70,000 years there probably will be no attempt to date the material using this method. Scientists are not ready to challenge the existing timeline yet.
The method used to date the remains of these creatures is by dating the sediment layers where the specimen was found. This method requires that we assume the dates of the layers of earth’s strata are accurately estimated. Since there are no tests to confirm the date a layer of sediment is deposited, there really is no way to accurately verify this dating method.
There is a lot of anecdotal evidence that suggests dinosaurs may have walked the earth more recently than has been estimated by scientists. Beside the discovery of soft tissue, there are some historical records that suggest they may have shared the earth with ancient human populations.
Like the current attempt to discredit the soft tissue as bacteria, all other evidence, both archaeological and historical, that contradict accepted scientific theories, are automatically discredited by scientists. Often this type of evidence is discarded without investigation or serious debate.
For example fossilized human remains have been found at the same level as fossilized dinosaur remains. This is explained by the scientists as being caused by the layers of earth overturning, much like a pancake being flipped in a pan by some cataclysmic event. Another cause for this, some suggest, is that they were buried that deep, in some cases over 60 feet.
Another example is the case of what appear to be human footprints in hardened sedimentary layers that appear in close proximity to footprints of dinosaurs. These are explained as being caused when the dinosaur walked over the original sediment layer that is then hardened. Later, they are then softened again when the human walks by and then hardened again forever. There is of course no evidence to support this theory, but it can be the only answer that is acceptable to most scientists.
Drawings and artifacts of what appear to be dinosaurs have been discovered in ancient human civilizations. There are examples of very accurate depictions of the brontosaurus and the stegosaurus. These are explained as fakes, coincidental fantasy creatures, or that these ancient people had discovered the fossils and managed to accurately depict the appearance of the assembled creatures.
Regardless of any new evidence that comes to light, it appears that there will be no new questioning by scientists of the current timelines. Science can at times appear to be more like a religion. Once a belief is established as fact it is nearly impossible to change that belief.
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