Scientists Detect Heme in 115-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Bone, Reviving Debate Over Fossil Blood
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Nov 9
Scientists Detect Heme in 115-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Bone, Reviving Debate Over Fossil Blood
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Nov 9
Summary
A PNAS study reports heme traces inside vascular canals of a 115-million-year-old Aratasaurus leg bone from northeast Brazil, potentially the strongest molecular evidence yet of dinosaur blood.
Using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy, researchers found heme in the bone but not the surrounding rock, a pattern they say lowers the risk of contamination.
The team argues low-oxygen burial, microbial mats and the mineral hausmannite may have helped preserve the material; chlorophyll-linked compounds in nearby sediment pointed instead to plant or microbial origins.
Skepticism remains: at least 14 earlier studies have claimed dinosaur blood evidence without winning broad acceptance, and paleontologist Mary Schweitzer said the cell-like structures differ too sharply from modern bird and crocodilian blood cells.
The fossil, discovered in 2008 and surviving Rio's 2018 National Museum fire, could reshape views of biomolecule preservation in deep time if independent studies confirm the finding.
Could the devastating 2018 museum fire that this fossil survived have actually altered its chemistry to mimic ancient dinosaur blood?
Are these microscopic structures truly ancient dinosaur red blood cells, or just clever chemical illusions created by ancient bacteria?
If blood molecules can survive 115 million years, what other biological secrets are hiding in fossils we thought were just rock?
115-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Blood Revealed: Chemical Detection of Heme in Aratasaurus Fossil Redefines Limits of Molecular Preservation
Overview
The discovery of preserved heme B in the 115-million-year-old dinosaur Aratasaurus museunacionali marks a major breakthrough in paleontology. Unique, oxygen-poor waters slowed decay, allowing delicate blood-related microstructures in the bone to mineralize. After surviving a museum fire, the fossil was studied by an international team using advanced chemical and imaging techniques. They found blood-derived heme compounds stabilized by hausmannite minerals, which acted as antioxidants to protect organic molecules. This achievement not only extends the chemical record of blood far into the past but also inspires new strategies for searching for ancient life on Earth and Mars.