Could Chicken Embryos Produce Dinosaurs?

Jako8

After years spent hunting for the buried remains of prehistoric animals, a Canadian paleontologist now plans to manipulate chicken embryos to show he can create a dinosaur.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/08/25/chicken-dinosaur.html

Galvasean

I believe Jack Horner wrote a book or paper on that subject not too long ago.
To be honest, they wouldn't be making any actual prehistoric dinosaur, just a chicken with extremely dinosaur like traits.

Jako8

Galvasean wrote: »

I believe Jack Horner wrote a book or paper on that subject not too long ago.
To be honest, they wouldn't be making any actual prehistoric dinosaur, just a chicken with extremely dinosaur like traits.

Well, it's a start

Galvasean

We've created a monster! :eek:

Capt'n Midnight

I wish they'd give as much attention to stuff that is possibly doable, like mammoths or better still giant sloths. We have the full DNA for them and living organisms that are close.


We share a lot of DNA with gorillas and chimps and bonobos but our chromosome number is different since one of ours is equlivant to two of thiers joining together , simple stuff like this may make it more difficult.


We have the same DNA in all our cells, but the cells are different because of their environment and history , you would get the same problem in trying to reuse ancient DNA.

Galvasean

Jack chats about the idea:
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/2011/06/jack-horner-explains-how-to-build-a-dinosaur/

I think Horner fancies himself as something of a comedian.

Adam Khor

Galvasean wrote: »

Jack chats about the idea:
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/2011/06/jack-horner-explains-how-to-build-a-dinosaur/

I think Horner fancies himself as something of a comedian.

Oh, he is a comedian all right! But not in the way he thinks he is.

Marsha McMallow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QVXdEOiCw8

He did a TED talk on this recently too. He doesn't go too in depth, and takes a while to get to the interesting stuff, but it's worth a gander none the less.

Alvin T. Grey

No. You'd produce a chicken. more likely a mutant chicken. Either way, it probably wouldn't be viable.

Adam Khor

I remember reading something when I was a kid; an article on how some chicken could develop teeth due to a certain genetic mutation. The interesting thing is that the teeth were ziphodont, just like those of most theropods. This was taken as the time as important evidence that chickens were indeed dinosaurs.
But the mutation was deadly to the chicken embryo so no sharp-toothed chicken has ever actually been born.

Galvasean

Adam Khor wrote: »

I remember reading something when I was a kid; an article on how some chicken could develop teeth due to a certain genetic mutation. The interesting thing is that the teeth were ziphodont, just like those of most theropods. This was taken as the time as important evidence that chickens were indeed dinosaurs.
But the mutation was deadly to the chicken embryo so no sharp-toothed chicken has ever actually been born.

Until... now!
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060223083601.htm

Adam Khor

Galvasean wrote: »

Until... now!
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060223083601.htm

That is precisely the article I meant... but it does say that the mutation kills the embryo before its born.

Galvasean

I actually recall seeing an article n a tabloid newspaper from about a year ago which had a full grown chicken with at least one tooth. Hmm.....

Galvasean

For no particular reason I can discern, the Discovery Channel are hyping this up again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygI-2F8ApUM

Capt'n Midnight

four legged chicken
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14960695/

four legged ducks
http://archive.dailypicture.net/four_legged_duck_chinese_shandong_province.htm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-468610/Stumpy-duck-born-legs-love.html

niall_h

Shouldn't be too hard to make a Velociraptor, so. This is what they really looked like, apparently.