[katieHaylor (OP)]

Fiona says:

In Jurassic Park dinosaurs were replicated by their DNA being fused with other creatures' genomes.
Their DNA was extracted from insects which had bitten them and were then trapped in amber.

Are we closer to being able to do this in real life?

What do you think?

[evan_au]

The problem is that DNA degrades over time, breaking into smaller and smaller pieces. These DNA fragments need to be sequenced and reassembled into the original order, like a million-piece puzzle - without the benefit of a picture on the box.

The best chances for success are for recently-deceased species, especially if we have a number of well-preserved bodies, frozen in permafrost (like we do for mammoths).
- Other species like the Tasmanian Tiger are candidates, based on samples stored in museums.
- Unfortunately, a lot of museum specimens were stored in formaldehyde, which prevents the DNA being sequenced,

Even after you have a good DNA sequence inside a computer, you have to generate actual DNA, which is a challenge for organisms with a large genome.
- You then need to produce hypercoiled chromosomes in a form which can be copied.
- insert them into an egg cell
- which must be compatible with the needs of the instructions in the DNA
- It must be inserted into an egg (or a compatible mother)

So for the extinct mammoth, conceivably an African elephant might be a compatible mother.

At present we are at the stage of generating the entire genome of a bacterium.
- Our capabilities are growing at an exponential rate, to: read DNA fragments, assemble them inside a computer, and generate long sequences of DNA.
- A doubling of capacity every 9 months has been quoted
- If this acceleration continues, it is hard to imagine what might be possible in 20 years (26 doublings = 100 million times the capacity)!

Some people have suggested going the other direction - start with an elephant, and make a few genetic modifications per generation until you have something that genetically resembles a mammoth.
- That might be an interesting long-term plan, but at the current rate of poaching, the African elephant will also be extinct in the wild in about a decade

[Kryptid]

Unless some unknown, natural preservation method exists that can keep their DNA relatively intact for at least 66 million years, I don't think so. DNA has a half-life of 521 years under ideal known natural circumstances and completely breaks down into individual nucleotides after about 6.8 million years. Any such dinosaur DNA would be a useless mess of nucleotides by now.

Consensus sequencing of the DNA of all living species of bird could give us a very good idea of what the DNA of their last common ancestor looked like. Unfortunately, that too would be a bird and not a "classic" dinosaur.

Alternatively, we could make something like a dinosaur artificially by modifying chickens: https://www.livescience.com/50886-scientific-progress-dino-chicken.html

[chris]

Cambridge palaeontologist Jason Head, who was on the Naked Scientists Radio Show / Podcast this week challenged a similar question on the programme by pointing out that we're surrounded by living dinosaurs right now - birds, which are the direct descendants of dinosaurs!

A bit subtle, and a twist that a crafty lawyer would be proud of, but an important point. 

[atbsphotography]

Cambridge palaeontologist Jason Head, who was on the Naked Scientists Radio Show / Podcast this week challenged a similar question on the programme by pointing out that we're surrounded by living dinosaurs right now - birds, which are the direct descendants of dinosaurs!

A bit subtle, and a twist that a crafty lawyer would be proud of, but an important point.

It's interesting you should say that. I am sure I've read somewhere that scientists are trying to replicate the Raptor with a Chicken.

[OokieWonderslug]

Yes we will bring them back. Not from recovered dna but from birds. All the genetic info needed to make a dinosaur is inside every bird. All one needs to do is control when certain genes are expressed. They've already made a chicken with teeth. But for some incomprehensible reason they won't let one be born. And they've had a tail grow on a baby in it's egg but inexplicably killed it too. It can be done and will be done. And then it'll get weird because all animals have genes for things that they are not anymore. And some idiot will make a Homo Erectus and will get that sort of thing banned.

[Professor Mega-Mind]

Newsflash !  All genetic info. , including dormant genes , experiences genetic degeneration .  Also , we still don't know how instincts are stored .  We must look to convergent physical AND behavioral evolution in order to fill in the canyon-sized gaps .  Neo-dinos would have to be hodgepodges of modern critters , heavily modified to look & act like we think they did .  I vote we take the easy way , and start with recent animals .  They say that Moa tasted great , so I say " Do that ! ".  Psst , I just heard Bob Bakker scream !
OK , 'nuff .  I hongry now !   P.M.