How to Build a Dinosaur: Extinction Doesn't Have to Be Forever Hardcover - 2009

by Jack Horner; James Gorman

A world-renownedpaleontologisttakes readers allover the globe toreveal a new sciencethat trumps sciencefiction: how humanscan re-create adinosaur.

In movies, in novels, in comic strips, and ontelevision, we've all seen dinosaurs or atleast somebody's educated guess ofwhat they would look like. But whatif it were possible to build, or grow, areal dinosaur, without finding ancientDNA? Jack Horner, the scientist whoadvised Steven Spielberg on JurassicPark, and a pioneer in bringing paleontologyinto the twenty-first century, teamsup with the editor of The New York Times,/I>'s ScienceTimes section to reveal exactly what's in store.

In the 1980s, Horner began using CAT scans tolook inside fossilized dinosaur eggs, and he and hiscolleagues have been delving deeper ever since. AtNorth Carolina State University, Mary Schweitzer hasextracted fossil molecules proteins that survived 68million years from a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil excavatedby Horner. These proteins show that T. rex and the modern chicken arekissing cousins. At McGill University, Hans Larsson is manipulating achicken embryo to awaken the dinosaur within: starting by growing atail and eventually prompting it to grow the forelimbs of a dinosaur. Allof this is happening without changing a single gene.

This incredible research is leading to discoveries and applicationsso profound they're scary in the power they confer on humanity. Howto Build a Dinosaur is a tour of the hot rocky deserts and air-conditionedlaboratories at the forefront of this scientific revolution.