This really sets the cat among the pigeons or ‘Dino
among the dustcoats’!.......
A paleontologist from
North Carolina State University, Mary H. Schweitzer, was involved in a large
fossil dig at Hell Creek in north-east Montana. In 2001 so many remains were
collected from the site that even
smelled of death that
a 3.5m long thigh bone from a particular Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil had to be
broken to fit into the helicopter. Bone fragments were taken back to the
laboratory and dissolved with acid to reveal fibrous bone matrix. Further
examination revealed that the dinosaur was probably a pregnant female and heme,
a haemoglobin component in blood, also remained. As a result of this and other unfossilised finds, a new
field of science has emerged - molecular paleontology.
An adult T-Rex was
about 12 metres long and stood about 3.7 metres tall. We are told that they
died out 65 million years ago but that soft tissue and nucleated red blood cells
could not be expected to survive anywhere near that long, even in a protected
environment within rock.
What has been the
response from academia? Mary has been accused of: being mistaken, allowing
contamination, lab testing outside her expertise, rushing the tests due to
funding constraints, confusing matrix with bacterial biofilm…but no scientist
who values his/her career dares question that sacred dating of 65 million
years. The only option now is to rethink fossil mineralisation and preservation
rates.
According to the
Geological Column in the textbooks:How is the 65 million years decided on by paleontologists?........by the age of the rocks?
So how is the age of the rocks decided on by geologists?........by the age of the fossils?
And what drives science
these days? Objectivity… or money?
careers? bias?
Just by the way, Mary is
reported having said about God: “…I think He kind of designed it so that we’d
never be able to prove His existence.” Acknowledgements:
en.wikipedia.org
www.smithsonianmag.com
discovermagazine.com
Photo credits:
T-rex / cosmonoticias.org
Hell Ck / berkeley.edu
discovermagazine.com
Photo credits:
T-rex / cosmonoticias.org
Hell Ck / berkeley.edu
This topic really upsets some people who fight ugly to defend that dinosaurs became extinct millions of years ago. If that is so, why is 'molecular paleontology' necessary? Decide for yourself on this one, as usual. One day we'll look at what the historians tell us about human contact with 'dragons'.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Mary, my Bible tells me in Romans 1 that our Creator has designed things in such a way that not only can we know about Him but also know His divine attributes from the things He has made.
ReplyDelete