...they believe that this single fragment of a beast which stalked the earth untold millions of years ago could hold the key which will unlock the secrets of the dinosaurs.
Extraordinarily, they contend that it could lead to a real life Jurassic Park, where dinosaurs are once again unleashed on the world by scientists.
For just like in the hit Steven Spielberg movie, these men and women are intent on cracking the genetic code of the dinosaurs and opening the possibility of bringing them back to life.
It poses the question: will scientists ever be able to resurrect the dinosaur?
According to Jack Horner, professor of palaeontology at Montana State University, the answer is an unequivocal yes.
He says: ‘Of course we can bring them back to life. Their ancestral DNA is still present.
'The science is there. I don’t think there are any barriers, other than the philosophical.’
He wanted to see if he could make a chicken grow a dinosaur’s tail, turning the clock back millions of years.
Manipulating the genetic make-up, he was able to extend the tail by a further three vertebrae.
Larsson had pinpointed a method for turning on dormant dinosaur genes.
If birds retained a dormant tail imprint, did they still retain a memory of dinosaur teeth?
‘Making a tooth is complex,’ says Harris. ‘So the idea of turning on one gene that might be able to do this in an animal that hasn’t made teeth in over 70 million years, was somewhat of a stretch.’
Examining the growing embryo two weeks later, he called colleagues to look at what had happened.
‘You could see very clearly paired structures on the lower jaw.
'And so, a normal chicken can actually grow teeth.’
This was unexpected. Furthermore, the teeth had the same curved shape as dinosaur
fangs.
Larsson now believes that in a hundred years or so, geneticists could retro-engineer animals that appear identical to Mesozoic dinosaurs.
‘Why can’t we take all the genetics, just change it around a little bit, and produce a Tyrannosaurus Rex, or something that looks like one?’ he asks.
‘I think that kind of scenario is quite possible. Maybe sooner than we think.’
Fallon agrees, saying: ‘As we learn more, we’ll be able to do it.
'The genetic knowledge is in the bird.’
For his part, Horner imagines creating the first example.
‘I have to admit that I’ve certainly imagined walking up on a stage to give a talk, and having a little dino chicken walk up behind me,’ he says.
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