When reversing genetics in an attempt to create a real, live, man-eating dinosaur, it pays to know what the consequences may be. In this case, being the paleontologist who advised Steven Spielberg on the making of four Jurassic Park movies and decades of children’s nightmares about killer lizards should just about cover it.
If movies are anything to go by, then geneticists could just take a piece of dino-DNA and recreate Tap-Tap the Velociraptor, quick quick. But, unfortunately, this is not the case. However, according to Horner, advances in genetic engineering could result in the creation of dinosaurs based on existing creatures. Like chickens. If you guessed that they chose a bird based on the school of thought that birds are related to dinosaurs, you’d be correct.
“For a long time I wanted to have a pet dinosaur, or something like it,” says Horner
Ja, because that’s how it all starts.
Basically, he plans on reversing the changes made by evolution, by returning a chicken to a more dinosaur-like state. Now, before you mumble “bullshit” and slam your laptop closed in a rage, because I aggrevated your unhealed childhood wound of not having your own T-Rex, understand that this man has contributed more to our understanding of dinosaurs than any other modern scientist.
“It won’t take a long time to do this,” Horner says confidently.
“It might take a while to find the specific things we are looking for, but we are going to find a few others in between.”
He explains that it’s as simple as finding the genes that give birds their bird-like characteristics, and switch them off.
With that, I’ll leave your mind to ponder the rest.
I’m thinking Kentucky Fried Dinosaurs. It’s lunch time.
[Source: telegraph]
