PAMS Focus - Special Edition - March 24, 2005

PAMS Focus is a periodic e-mail newsletter about activities, achievements and other news from the NC State College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences (PAMS). If you have any suggestions or comments, please share them with us by e-mailing pamsalumni@lists.ncsu.edu.

NC State researcher finds soft tissue in dinosaur bone

A breaking story from the NC State Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, is making international headlines this afternoon.

Dr. Mary Schweitzer, an assistant professor of paleontology with a joint appointment at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, has succeeded in isolating soft tissue from the femur of a 68-million-year-old dinosaur. Not only is the tissue largely intact, it's still transparent and pliable, and microscopic interior structures resembling blood vessels and even cells are still present.

Further research is necessary to determine if the surviving tissue contains proteins and other biological molecules. This work suggests that scientists must gain a new understanding of the chemical processes of preservation and fossilization.

A paper on the work will appear in tomorrow's issue of Science.

This story is appearing on most news Web sites, such as CNN, ABC, AP and others. The most detailed current story is located on the BBC Web site, which resulted from a detailed interview with Schweitzer earlier this week. To see this story, visit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4379577.stm