Originally published Friday, April 25, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Did T. rex roar — or cluck instead?
It looks like chickens deserve more respect. Scientists are fleshing out the proof that today's broiler-fryer is descended from the mighty...
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — It looks like chickens deserve more respect.
Scientists are fleshing out the proof that today's broiler-fryer is descended from the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex.
And, not a surprise, they confirmed a close relationship between mastodons and elephants.
Fossil studies have long suggested modern birds were descended from T. rex, based in similarities in their skeletons. Now, bits of protein obtained from connective tissues in a T. rex fossil show a relationship to birds including chickens and ostriches, according to a report in today's edition of the journal Science.
"These results match predictions made from skeletal anatomy, providing the first molecular evidence for the evolutionary relationships of a nonavian dinosaur," Chris Organ, a postdoctoral researcher in biology at Harvard University, said in a statement.
Co-author John Asara of Harvard reported last year that his team had been able to extract collagen from a T. rex and that it most closely resembled the collagen of chickens.
They weren't able to recover dinosaur DNA, the genetic instructions for life, but DNA codes for the proteins they studied.
While the researchers were able to obtain just a few proteins from T. rex, they have now been able to show the relationships with birds. With more data, Organ said, they would probably be able to place T. rex on the evolutionary tree between alligators and chickens and ostriches.
"We also show that it groups better with birds than modern reptiles, such as alligators and green anole lizards," Asara added.
The dinosaur protein was obtained from a fossil found in 2003 by John Horner of the Museum of the Rockies in a barren, fossil-rich stretch of land that spans Wyoming and Montana.
Mary Schweitzer of North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences discovered soft-tissue preservation in the T. rex bone in 2005.
The research of Organ and Asara indicates that the protein from the fossilized tissue is authentic, rather than contamination from a living species.
The researchers also studied material recovered from a mastodon fossil and determined it was related to modern elephants.
Their research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Paul F. Glenn Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
UPDATE - 10:01 AM
Rebels tighten hold on Libya oil port
UPDATE - 09:29 AM
Reality leads US to temper its tough talk on Libya
UPDATE - 09:38 AM
2 Ark. injection wells may be closed amid quakes
Armed guards save Dutch couple from Somali pirates
Navy to release lewd video investigation findings

nwautos
Turismo upgrade "Gran Turismo 5: XL Edition" for PlayStation 3 has features such as new car-tuning settings, new NASCAR vehicles, better replay video...
Post a comment
- Lakewood cop accused of embezzling $150K meant for slain officers' families
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- Social worker recounts minutes before Powell fire
- Agency set to investigate handling of 911 call about Josh Powell
- Quick decisions: How Washington hired its new football staff
- Council members get briefing on arena proposal, minus details
- Historic day for gay marriage as another fight looms
- Justin Wilcox's versatile defensive style is the right fit for Huskies | Jerry Brewer
- It's Terrence Time: Enigmatic Ross leads Huskies
- Washington men walloped by Oregon, 82-57
- Gay-marriage bill passes House, awaits Gregoire's signature
507 - Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color
406 - AP Source: Obama to change birth control rule
370 - Council members get briefing on arena proposal, minus details
364 - Oregon live game thread
155 - Worker: Josh Powell told son he had 'surprise'
114 - Rough road again
108 - A few late-night notes
96 - USA Today further spells out how Mariners, handful of clubs next in line for huge cash windfall
76 - Marijuana legalization initiative set to go on Nov. ballot
74
- Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color
- State Medicaid program to stop paying for unneeded ER visits
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- Economy, blogs give survivalists new reason to look to Northwest
- State's share of mortgage settlement: $648 million
- Bellevue College adds a third bachelor's degree program
- Darren Berg gets 18-year sentence for Ponzi scheme
- One man's audacious pursuit of sailing history
- $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses
- 'Gauguin and Polynesia': dazzling mix-and-match | Art review







