Dinosaur fossils are all that’s left of those prehistoric animals. Immersed for tens of millions of years in ancient mud, minerals and water, the fossils come from the dinosaur’s so-called “hard parts” – its bones, teeth and skull. We find dinosaur fossils in the ground, in riverbeds and lakes, and on the sides of cliffs and mountains. Every now and then, someone finds one in their <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/find-a-dinosaur-in-your-backyard-its-all-yours-19885792/">backyard </a>.

Is DNA In The Fossils?

Dig up a fossil today, and any dino-DNA within would have long since fallen apart. That means, as far as scientists know, and even using the best technology available today, it’s not possible to make a dinosaur from its DNA. Although it’s too late to find dino-DNA, scientists recently found something almost as intriguing. They discovered DNA fragments in the fossils of Neanderthals and other ancient mammals, such as <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00436-x">woolly mammoths </a>.

Dino-DNA Could Reconstruct A Dinosaur!

Although it’s too late to find dino-DNA, scientists recently found something almost as intriguing. They discovered DNA fragments in the fossils of Neanderthals and other ancient mammals, such as <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00436-x">woolly mammoths </a>. Now that makes sense; those fragments are less than 2 million years old, well before all of the DNA would decay.

The Basic Idea 

Just for fun, let’s imagine that somehow, sometime in the future, researchers came up with fragments of dinosaur DNA. With only fragments, scientists still could not make a complete dinosaur. Instead, they would have to combine the fragments with the DNA of a modern-day animal to create a living organism. That creature, however, could not be called an actual dinosaur. Rather, it would be a hybrid, a blend of dinosaur and, most likely, a bird or reptile.

Imagine For A Moment...

Your DNA is different from everyone else’s. It determines many of the characteristics that define you, like the color of your eyes or whether your hair is straight or curly. DNA is much easier to find in the “soft parts” of an animal – their organs, blood vessels, nerves, muscle and fat. But a dinosaur’s soft parts are long gone. They either decomposed or were eaten by another dinosaur.

The ABCs Of DNA

But scientists have a big problem when trying to find DNA in dinosaur fossils. DNA molecules eventually decay. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2012.11555">Recent studies show </a>DNA deteriorates and ultimately disintegrates after about 7 million years. That sounds like a long time, but the last dinosaur died at the end of the <a href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Cretaceous-Period/628196">Cretaceous Period </a>. That’s more than 65 million years ago.

The Trouble With Dino-DNA

Ever since moviegoers saw the first ‘Jurassic Park,’ millions have wondered if scientists could make a dinosaur in the lab.