Rescuing Device: Protein Molecules in Dinosaur Eggs

Original biological materials from fossils have been found for many years, but the 1997 discovery of soft tissues in a dinosaur bone by Dr. Mary Schweitzer and company really took the rag off the bush. Things get worse for them because biomolecules are also found in dinosaur material.

Despite numerous reports of dinosaur soft tissue discoveries reported in peer-reviewed journals, some jaspers still refuse to believe that they exist. Others admit they exist and come up with rescuing devices. The reason is that these things make Papa Darwin sad.

Fossil dinosaur eggs, Flickr / Gary Todd (PD)

As discussed before, worldviews strongly influence how people interpret evidence. A paleontologist evidence-denier wanted to be the smartest one on the bus, so he tried to refute claims of original biomolecules. It did not go well. Instead, he indulged in circular reasoning: Assume that dinosaur eggs are millions of years old, then prove biomolecules last for millions of years! Yeah, people get paid for absurd reasoning along those lines.

Evan Thomas Saitta, a paleontologist at the University of Chicago, was out to prove that claims of original biomolecules in dinosaur bones were mistaken. Then he heard a “gleeful exclamation” from a grad student, Kirsty Penkman, who was practically jumping up and down across the room. The student had detected spectral signatures of intact amino acids from pieces of fossilized dinosaur eggshells. Well how about that! Saitta concluded, “Fossilized dinosaur eggshells can preserve amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, over millions of years” — the title he gave an essay at The Conversation on 9 April 2024.

It is in your best interest to read the rest at "Intact Dinosaur Molecules Found."