"Dinosaur collagen" may represent modern contamination

Adam Khor

According to this study, the soft tissue found inside the bones of Tyrannosaurus and Brachylophosaurus (and Edmontosaurus, if memory serves?) would actually come from ostriches studied in the same labs. 
https://phys.org/news/2017-06-collagen-tyrannosaurus-rex-bone-jurassic.html

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMmgnpcaKyM

After you clone them just stick on a giant sink plunger , be grand.

Black Swan

"Dinosaur collagen" may represent modern contamination? Whatever happened to clean lab procedures, or somewhat rigourous procedures conducted during a dig in the field?

Wibbs

Good question. Last year I was looking at footage and photos from the recent Homo Naledi dig site and not a sign of latex gloves/face masks to be seen.



Now this is today, not twenty years ago when even the notion that useful DNA might be extracted from such material was a fantastical idea. Granted it's a bugger of a site and not exactly easily accessed, but it looks like DNA examination hasn't even been invented. Then again the National Geographic that part funded and filmed the discovery is another worry for me. Get results for the cameras... When you compare that to recent and ongoing excavations in places like northern Spain where researchers are excavating Neandertal sites, they're done up in the full gear, bodysuits, gloves and masks.