'Jurassic Park' Preserved in Fiction, but Dino DNA Extraction Won't be a Reality

The film "Jurassic Park" forever solidified the image of a mosquito carrying dinosaur DNA being entombed in amber in the public mind. But new research published in the journal PLOS One is the latest to say the idea of recreating dinosaurs by extracting and synthesizing that DNA is scientifically impossible, contending that the DNA to do it would not even be there in the first place.

A coordinated effort by amber expert David Penney and ancient DNA expert Terry Brown, the team used advanced DNA sequencing techniques on insects preserved in copal, the sub-fossilized resin precursor of amber.

The research was conducted at the ancient DNA facility at the University of Manchester, which, according to the university, "comprises a suite of independent, physically isolated laboratories, each with an ultra-filtered air supply maintaining positive displacement pressure and a managed access system."

Brown said their approach used "next generation" DNA sequencing methods, which are "ideal for ancient DNA because it provides sequences for all the DNA molecules in an extract, regardless of their length, and is less likely to give preference to contaminating modern molecules."

The researchers analyzed specimens of insects preserved in copal as young as 60 years old and as old as 10,600.

Brown and Penney concluded that because they were unable to detect ancient DNA in sub-fossilized insects in the copal specimens despite using the most sophisticated technology available that the potential the DNA survived in ancient amber resin from the day of the dinosaurs is effectively zero.

"Intuitively, one might imagine that the complete and rapid engulfment in resin, resulting in almost instantaneous demise, might promote the preservation of DNA in a resin entombed insect, but this appears not to be the case," Penney said. "So, unfortunately, the Jurassic Park scenario must remain in the realms of fiction."