TigerHawk

TigerHawk (ti*ger*hawk): n. 1. The title of this blog and the nom de plume of its founding blogger; 2. A deep bow to the Princeton Tigers and the Iowa Hawkeyes; 3. The nickname for Iowa's Hawkeye logo. Posts include thoughts of the day on international affairs, politics, things that strike us as hilarious and personal observations. The opinions we express are our own, and not those of each other, our employers, our relatives, our dead ancestors, or unrelated people of similar ethnicity.

Friday, April 13, 2007

"May I have a T. Rex caesar salad, please?"

By TigerHawk at 4/13/2007 07:38:00 AM

Cool:

Unleashing a new, highly sensitive medical analyzer on fossilized bone from Tyrannosaurus rex, scientists have for the first time determined the precise molecular code of a dinosaur protein.

The feat, long presumed impossible because so little protein is present in dinosaur remains, opens the door to a redrawing of the evolutionary tree -- one based on molecular evidence instead of the crude comparisons of bone shapes and sizes that experts rely on today.

The first results, described in today's issue of the journal Science, show that the collagen protein in T. rex bone is extraordinarily similar to that of the modern chicken, confirming current thinking that dinosaurs' nearest cousins are birds.

After water, collagen is the most common substance in the body of any animal. It is the structural protein that binds our cells together. Therefore, if T. Rex collagen is "extraordinarily similar to that of the modern chicken," does that mean that grilled, roasted, or Shake 'n' Baked T. Rex would taste like chicken?

So I have a question: If Michael Crichton was right about this, what else was he right about?^*

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*Relax. I'm just goofin'. Sheesh.

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6 Comments:

By joated, at Fri Apr 13, 08:13:00 AM:

Jurassic Park was fiction but, now, obviously based upon fact (or at least speculative fact). State of Fear is non-fiction and truer words were never spoken.

In today's news environment, fear is a valuable commodity. What else will keep you tuning in for the updates?

By Georg Felis, at Fri Apr 13, 09:52:00 AM:

Dibbs on the drumstick! I'll pull the truck around...

By Anonymous, at Fri Apr 13, 11:02:00 AM:

I've eaten fried iguana. "Pollo del arbol", or chicken of the tree. T-Rex shouldn't be much different, perhaps chewier. How about "T-Rex du Vin" for dinner?

By Steve Burri, at Fri Apr 13, 09:10:00 PM:

Yeah, but can you imagine how hard it would be to wring their necks?

By Anonymous, at Sat Apr 14, 12:01:00 AM:

SHARP TOOTH SHARP TOOTH THAT HADS ALL SORTS OF STUFF IN THEIR BONES

By Anonymous, at Sun Apr 15, 12:46:00 AM:

Poppycock im not related to a dinosoar and those evolutionists are a bunch of crack-pots and HOW DO YOU WANT YOUR BRONTO STEAKS?