Science Current Events | Science News | Brightsurf.com
 
Email a Friend Send to a friend
Printer Friendly Print Soft tissue taken from Tyrannosaurus rex fossil yields original protein

Soft tissue taken from Tyrannosaurus rex fossil yields original protein

April 13, 2007

What happens when a 68 million-year-old Tyrannosaurus Rex meets 21st century medical science?

A North Carolina State University researcher and her colleagues at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center found out when they confirmed the existence of protein in soft tissue recovered from the bone of a 68 million-year-old T. rex. Their results may both change the way that people think about fossil preservation and present a new method for studying diseases such as cancer.




Dr. Mary Schweitzer, assistant professor of paleontology at NC State with a joint appointment at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, had previously discovered soft tissue in the leg bone of a T. rex recovered in 2003 from the Hell Creek formation in Montana.

After her own chemical and molecular analyses of the tissue indicated that original protein fragments might be preserved, she turned to colleagues Dr. John Asara, director of the mass spectrometry core facility at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and instructor in pathology at Harvard Medical School and co-author Dr. Lewis Cantley, to see if they could provide the "nail in the coffin" that would confirm her suspicions. That nail would be sequence - the amino acid 'letters' used to make collagen, a fibrous protein found in bone.

Schweitzer's findings - and those of her colleagues - appear in the April 13 edition of the journal Science.

Bone is a composite material, consisting of both protein and mineral. When minerals are removed from modern bone, a collagen matrix - fibrous, resilient material that gives the bone its structure and flexibility - is left behind. When Schweitzer demineralized the T. rex bone, she was surprised to find such a matrix, because current theories of fossilization held that no original organic material could survive that long.

To see if the material had the characteristic cross-banded "stripes" that indicate collagen, Schweitzer and her colleagues examined the resultant soft tissue with both an electron microscope and atomic force microscopy. They then tested it against various antibodies that are known to react with collagen.

"We looked for collagen because it's plentiful, it's durable, and it has been recovered from other fossil materials, although none as old as this T. rex," Schweitzer says. "It's also a relatively easy molecule to identify, and it's not something that any microbes living in the immediate environment could produce. So identifying collagen in the soft tissue would indicate that it is original to the T. rex - that the tissue contains remnants of the molecules produced by the dinosaur, though highly altered."

But the evidence that Schweitzer had managed to find for the existence of collagen, while strongly suggestive, was not definitive. Fortunately, a mass spectrometry technique developed for studying low-level proteins in human diseases in Asara's mass spectrometry core facility was able to do what hadn't been possible before: provide the sequence of a 68 million-year-old protein and thus identify it.

Mass spectrometry measures the mass to charge ratio of individual molecules (peptides) that have been charged, identifying them by weight. Peptide fragmentation patterns reveal the amino acid sequence. The advantage of this method is that it extremely sensitive and can be used in cases where only very small amounts of material are available for analysis. That was definitely true of the T. rex sample, which only produced a miniscule amount of remnant protein, and the protein was in a mixture of other material that had remained after the extraction process.

Asara first applied the method to modern ostrich and then to 160,000- 600,000 year-old mastodon to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of their method while sequencing novel sequences unique to mastodon. Then he successfully sequenced the dinosaur protein, identifying the amino acids and confirming that the material from the T. rex was collagen. When the researchers compared the collagen sequences to a database that contains existing sequences from modern species, they found that the T. rex sequence had similarities to those of chicken, frog and newt.

"The similarity to chicken is definitely what we would expect given the relationship between modern birds and dinosaurs," Schweitzer says. "From a paleo standpoint, sequence data really is the nail in the coffin that confirms the preservation of these tissues. This data will help us learn more about dinosaurs' evolutionary relationships, about how preservation happens, and about how molecules degrade over time, which could also have some important medical implications for treating disease."

###

North Carolina State University



Related Soft Tissue Current Events and Soft Tissue News Articles Soft Tissue Current Events and Soft Tissue News RSS Soft Tissue Current Events and Soft Tissue News RSS
Laser therapy can aggravate skin cancer
High irradiances of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) should not be used over melanomas.

Penn Study Provides First Clear Idea of How Rare Bone Disease Progresses
An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, is taking the first step in developing a treatment for a rare genetic disorder called fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), in which the body's skeletal muscles and soft connective tissue turns to bone, immobilizing patients over a lifetime with a second skeleton.

Surgery potentially best option for severe migraine headaches
The disability from migraine headaches is an enormous health burden affecting over 30 million Americans.

Now hear this
Deep in the ear, 95 percent of the cells that shuttle sound to the brain are big, boisterous neurons that, to date, have explained most of what scientists know about how hearing works.

Researchers find demand for cosmetic and surgical procedures in dermatologic surgery rising rapidly
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and the Laser and Skin Cancer Center of Indiana, (Carmel, Indiana), found that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of procedures performed and patient demand for dermatologic health care since 2000.

Targeted heat therapy offers new standard treatment option for soft tissue sarcoma
Patients with soft-tissue sarcomas at high risk of spreading were 30% more likely to be alive and cancer free almost three years after starting treatment if their tumours were heated at the time they received chemotherapy, according to new research.

Plastic surgeons should be part of disaster relief planning, response
When a terrorist bomb explodes, a tornado rips through a town, a hurricane devastates a region, or wildfires ravage homes and businesses, plastic surgeons are not typically atop the list of emergency responders.

Prevent periodontitis to reduce the risk of head and neck cancer
Chronic periodontitis, a form of gum disease, is an independent risk factor for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. This suggests the need for increased efforts to prevent and treat periodontitis as a possible means to reduce the risk of this form of cancer.

Obstructive sleep apnea is prevalent in adults with Down syndrome
A study in the Aug. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine shows that adults with Down syndrome also frequently suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Limb-sparing surgery may not provide better quality of life than amputation for bone cancer patients
Limb-sparing surgery, which has been taking the place of amputation for bone and soft tissue sarcomas of the lower limb in recent years, may not provide much or even any additional benefit to patients according to a new review.
More Soft Tissue Current Events and Soft Tissue News Articles
Functional Soft-Tissue Examination and Treatment by Manual Methods,  Third Edition

Functional Soft-Tissue Examination and Treatment by Manual Methods, Third Edition
by Warren Hammer (Author)

This third edition of this very successful book includes chapters written by experts in the methods of manual treatment and provides step-by-step instructions on how to examine your patient using a logical sequence of passive, contractile, and special tests, and how to relate findings to biomechanical problems and lesions. Included are hundreds of diagrams, photographs, illustrations, and summary charts.

Enzinger and Weiss's Soft Tissue Tumors with CD-ROM

Enzinger and Weiss's Soft Tissue Tumors with CD-ROM
by Sharon W. Weiss MD (Author), John R. Goldblum MD FCAP FASCP FACG (Author)

Here's your ideal reference on the diagnosis of tumors of the skeletal muscles, connective tissue, fat, and related structures. No other textbook matches its scope and depth of coverage in this complex and challenging area of surgical pathology, and no other text contains as much practical information on differential diagnosis. Throughout, microscopic findings are correlated with the latest developments in molecular biology, cytogenetics, and immunohistochemistry to provide you with a comprehensive and integrated approach to evaluation and diagnosis. Almost 2,000 superb illustrations capture the appearance of a complete range of entities and help relate these to their specific classifications. The result is an essential resource for all who diagnose and treat soft tissue...

  Injury and Repair of the Musculoskeletal Soft Tissues (40001)
by Savio L-Y Woo (Author), Joseph A. Buckwalter (Editor)

This reference work summarises current knowledge in all of the musculoskeletal soft-tissue areas and focuses on the structural aspects of soft-tissue injury.

Bone and Soft Tissue Pathology: A Volume in the Foundations in Diagnostic Pathology Series,  Expert Consult - Online and Print

Bone and Soft Tissue Pathology: A Volume in the Foundations in Diagnostic Pathology Series, Expert Consult - Online and Print
by Andrew L. Folpe MD (Author), Carrie Y. Inwards MD (Author)

Bone and Soft Tissue Pathology: A Volume in the Diagnostic Pathology Series, by Andrew L. Folpe, MD and Carrie Y. Inwards, MD, packs today's most essential bone and soft tissue pathology know-how into a compact, high-yield format! The book's pragmatic, well-organized approach-complemented by abundant full-color, high-quality illustrations and at-a-glance tables-makes it easy to access the information you need to quickly and accurately identify pathology specimens. Best of all, Expert Consult functionality provides online access to the full text of the book, downloadable illustrations for your personal use, and more. The result is a practical, affordable reference for study and review as well as for everyday clinical practice.

Includes access to the complete contents online, fully...

Charmin Ultra Soft Bathroom Tissue 9 Big Rolls

Charmin Ultra Soft Bathroom Tissue 9 Big Rolls
by Charmin



Kleenex Ultra Soft Facial Tissues, 85-Count Upright Box (Pack of 27) [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]

Kleenex Ultra Soft Facial Tissues, 85-Count Upright Box (Pack of 27) [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]
by Kleenex

For colds, allergies and noses that just want extra comfort, enjoy our softest Kleenex® brand tissue choices.

Manual of Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgery

Manual of Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgery
by Karen M. Tobias (Author)

Gain the benefit of 20 years' experience in small animal soft tissue surgery. In this book, Karen Tobias explains the tips and tricks that experienced surgeons use to make a procedure easier, faster and more successful. She provides clear, concise, detailed and well-illustrated instructions on how to complete all the common procedures performed in small animal practice. Hundreds of high-quality color photographs and detailed line drawings are included to provide step-by-step instructions, giving you confidence when attempting these techniques.

Key Features: Organized by procedure type and includes sections on surgery of the skin, abdomen, digestive system, reproductive tract, perineal, head and neck, and miscellaneous procedures Each chapter contains an...

Soffe Juniors' Short Sleeve Tissue Tee, Soft Pink, Small

Soffe Juniors' Short Sleeve Tissue Tee, Soft Pink, Small
by Soffe

Layer up in your favorite colors -- the Soffe® women's Tissue Tee is designed in ultra-light, ultra-soft ringspun combed jersey for maximum comfort.

Camco Mfg 40276 Marine 1-Ply Soft-Touch Toilet Tissue

Camco Mfg 40276 Marine 1-Ply Soft-Touch Toilet Tissue
by Camco Manufacturing Inc.

Camco Mfg Marine TST RV and Toilet Tissue is specifically designed for RV and marine holding tank systems. It is fast-dissolving, clog-resistant toilet tissue specifically designed for RV and marine holding tank systems. It is biodegradable, fast dissolving, clog resistant and septic tank safe. No dyes or perfumes are included. It comes in as 4 rolls, 280 sheets per roll, dimensions: 4.5 inches x 4.125 inches and can cover an area of 144.4 square feet.

Angel Soft 2 Ply Bath Tissue (GPC16640) Category: Regular Roll Toilet Paper

Angel Soft 2 Ply Bath Tissue (GPC16640) Category: Regular Roll Toilet Paper
by Georgia Pacific

Premium, embossed two-ply tissue delivers the softness of at-home quality, plus brand recognition. Upscale packaging and high-capacity sheet count is ideal for hospitality properties, restaurants or offices. White, 4.5 x 4.05 sheets. Individually wrapped. Angel Soft 2 Ply Bath Tissue

© 2009 BrightSurf.com