Fresh Dino Meat
NC State reseacher Mary Schweitzer went to Montana on a dig, cracked a dino bone and found “fresh” dino meat:
Schweitzer found the tissue in the thigh bone of a well-preserved T. rex that her former graduate school adviser excavated from a remote area of northeastern Montana along the Missouri River. The bone was broken to fit into a helicopter for the trip to Montana State University’s Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman.
Schweitzer thought she observed something unusual in the bone right away. After Schweitzer and her technician applied acid to break it down in Raleigh, a blob of transparent, deep red stuff, possibly tissue, emerged.
When she studied the blob under a microscope, Schweitzer found structures that look like the blood vessels and cells that help renew bones. She also found reddish circles that resemble the blood cells found in modern-day birds.
With this discovery, the idea of possibly recovering some dino DNA has moved from the realm of pure Hollywood fiction into the arena of science.