Although depicted in textbooks and Hollywood movies as mighty creatures with sharp teeth, thick skin and indomitable strength, dinosaurs, just like humans, were susceptible to a variety of diseases, including cancer.
Over time, scientists have actually found cancerous tumors embedded in fossilized bones, providing insight into the ancient history of this deadly disease. In 2016, a team of scientists from the United States and Romania announced the discovery of a dinosaur fossil with a tumor—a hadrosaur Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus , which lived 70 million years ago in the Hațeg Basin (now Romania).
Finding tumors alongside dinosaur fossils is relatively rare. But cancer experts at Imperial College London and Anglia Ruskin University (UK) have different concerns about this particular specimen.
“We wanted to know if the tumour in this dinosaur could provide any information about cancers in humans,” Biancastella Cereser, co-author of the study from Imperial College London, told the Independent . “Because the tumour in this dinosaur was ameloblastoma, a benign tumour of the jaw that also occurs in humans.”
The results, published in the journal Biology , show that using advanced techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), structures resembling red blood cells can be recovered. This proves that soft tissue and cellular components are more common in fossils than previously thought. Before Jurassic Park fans get excited, however, note that this does not include dinosaur DNA.
“ Jurassic Park was wrong in suggesting that dinosaur DNA could be recovered and cloned to bring the species back to life. We can’t extract the DNA because it’s been degraded by weather and time,” Justin Stebbing from Anglia Ruskin University told the Independent .
Fortunately, the proteins that survive in calcified tissue are much more stable, and offer a unique opportunity to study the ancient history of cancers that still plague us today. By analyzing how cancer once affected extinct species, the authors hypothesize that they may be able to discover new ways to suppress cancer.
“Dinosaurs, as large and long-lived creatures, provide a compelling case for studying how species have managed to acquire and resist cancer over millions of years of evolution,” the authors write. “The discovery of tumors such as ameloblastoma in Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus suggests that cancer was not an anomaly, but rather a recurring biological challenge in prehistoric ecosystems.”
The researchers also stressed the importance of preserving fossils for molecular studies like this. They hope that the information hidden in the fossils of long-extinct creatures could help protect the species that inhabit the Earth today.
“Our research, using underexplored methods, calls for continued exploration — which could lead to discoveries that benefit humanity,” Stebbing said in a press release. “Coordinated long-term fossil preservation is essential to ensure that future researchers have access to specimens suitable for advanced molecular studies.”
(Vietnam+)
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/phat-hien-gay-chan-dong-khung-long-cung-mac-ung-thu-nhu-con-nguoi-post1043285.vnp
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