Technology

Abstract
Genetic engineering can potentially bring about the rebirth of dinosaurs on Earth, with progresses in technology this can potentially become a reality within several decades time. There are numerous improbabilities to this ranging from a lack of potential sources of dinosaur DNA, lack of the necessary processes needed to effectively clone creatures to a general lack of knowledge as to how a dinosaurs genetic makeup is suppose to look like. Even with all of these improbabilities there is always the potential for the technology to catch up, for the science to improve and for people to have the will to recreate something which was lost to time.

Hypothesis
Dinosaurs can be gene engineered using preserved samples of their DNA which can be obtained from amber deposits containing mosquitoes that lived at around the same time as the dinosaurs and fed on their blood.

Introduction
Dinosaurs lived 65 million years ago and were theoretically wiped out when a dense meteor several miles long crashed into the Earth all we have left of them are fragments in the fossil records as well as the bits and pieces of information we have accumulated through the years with no current members of the species around it is considered impossible to bring them back through normal methods however through genetic engineering there might be away to use those fragments that we have collected and to utilize the resources we have at our disposal to recreate a lost species(Imoor 2005). While this may sound good on paper being able to actually do it is another thing entirely. There hasnt been any recent discoveries to date that has actually unearthed a perfectly preserved dinosaur specimen, whether in the wastes of Antarctica, Siberia, Alaska or even in the farthest regions of the Russia. Why the need for a perfectly preserved specimen DNA for one thing is a crucial factor in being able to recreate a los species. With the specimens we have right now namely fossils, bones and footprints there has been no effective specimen containing dinosaur DNA that can be used, examined and possibly recreated in the lab. It is from this point on that we venture from science fact to science fiction.

A lot of people may remember the movie Jurassic park wherein dinosaurs were created using the preserved blood of dinosaurs found in the perfectly preserved bodies of mosquitoes found encased in amber which is a plant resin that can trap insects, harden and keep them nearly perfectly preserved for millions of years as is the case in the movie and in real life as well(Geolor 2008). There are actually amber deposits scatter throughout the world with insects trapped in them that can date back to the time of the dinosaurs. Going along this train of though one would come to the conclusion after watching the movie Jurassic Park that there is a good possibility then that what was shown in the movie might hold true as well in real life(Science Daily 1998). It is true that the possibility is there that if a mosquito at that time was able to feed on a dinosaurs blood and was trapped in amber for millions of years the blood inside of it could possibly still be viable for examination as to determine the genetic sequence for dinosaurs. Such an occurrence though remote is possible. The technology though to be able to utilize the information that could be attained from the blood though hasnt been invented yet. With all the current advances in technology at the present there is still no technology or method currently devised that can effectively cause a single cell which supposedly possess all the information needed to produce the entire body of an organism to divide and create the organism itself(Thinkquest 2010).

Going back to the realm of science fiction in the movie frog DNA was supposedly used to make up for the genetic gaps found in the extracted DNA. While it is true that millions of years would deteriorate any DNA sample using frog DNA as a substitute for any missing strands in reality seems highly unlikely due to the large difference in species a better method would probably be to use the direct descendants of dinosaurs namely todays birds. Using avian DNA it just might be in the realm of possibility to recreate ancient strands of dinosaur DNA however this is purely theoretical(Imoor 2005).

All in all there are factors which show that it is both within the realm of possibility and that it isnt for dinosaurs to walk the Earth once more the problem is in determining which factor outweighs the other more and which seems to be a more logical path to take in regard to further study of the matter.

Hypothesis Testing  Strength Association

Improbability of gene engineering dinosaurs
Before starting on the probability of gene engineering dinosaurs there is a need to start off with the improbability of accomplishing such as feat. The reasons why gene engineering dinosaurs is highly improbable at this point in time can be summarized into 3 factors lack of proper technology, lack of resources and finally lack of knowledge.

Lack of resources refers to basic materials needed to create a dinosaur. While we may have fossils of dinosaurs prominently displayed in museums we lack the fundamental materials needed to bring about their rebirth namely DNA that has not deteriorated over time, is intact, and has not been mixed with that of another species. Unfortunately since dinosaurs lived nearly 65 million years ago there are few sources of actual dinosaur DNA that can be used to potentially reconstruct their genetic makeup and clone them(Tyler 1993).

In the movie Jurassic park a potential source of dinosaur DNA was found the preserved remains of mosquitoes trapped in amber that had been feeding on the blood of dinosaurs. It is true that mosquitoes have been around for millions of years and have remained largely unchanged albeit except for some changes in size over the past million years or so but they were the same blood sucking pests then as they are now(Geolor 2008). It can be assumed that the ancestors of todays mosquitoes fed on the blood of creatures 65 million years ago just as their descendants do so today and since dinosaurs were around that time as well it can be assumed that those mosquitoes during that time period feed on the blood of dinosaurs .

Mosquitoes trapped in amber are nearly perfectly preserved with the contents of their last meal still in their stomachs, going along this train of thought if we follow the example shown in the movie Jurassic Park all that would be needed would be to successfully extract that blood sample from within the preserved remains of that mosquito and there you would have your dinosaur DNA sample.

There are several problems with this particular theory of obtaining dinosaur DNA, first DNA deteriorates over time just like all other forms of biological matter. If so even if there was viable dinosaur blood that could be extracted it would definitely have deteriorated over the millions of years it sat there incased in amber with several gaps appearing in the damaged DNA that would make it difficult if not impossible to reconstruct(Dinobuzz 2010). The second problem would be contamination of the extracted DNA, since it sat there within the belly of that mosquito for several million years its likely that the original blood sample might be contaminated with that of the mosquito not to mention the fact that during extraction some of the mosquitoes DNA might inadvertently get mixed in as well and also it is highly improbable that the mosquito trapped within the amber fed on only one dinosaur, if there are multiple samples of blood mixed together in the stomach of the mosquito a problem would arise in determining from which dinosaur it came from(Tyler 1993). Third and lastly how sure are we that the DNA found in the mosquito is of dinosaur origin at all 65 million years ago there were more than just dinosaurs back then, there were multitudes of other species including mammals. As far as we know the extracted DNA could have come from a dead fish that was on a lakebed that the mosquito fed on.

A lack of proper technology refers to the current status of technology in our world today. While it may be true that as a species we have come far from the time Jurassic park was created currently we still lack the technology to effectively clone a 100 copy of ourselves without using seed material(Think Quest 2010). In the case of dolly the sheep the supposedly 1st artificially cloned animal she was still created using seed material from a live sheep. Another factor to consider is that even if we were able to extract and create an intact dinosaur genome there would still be the problem of having it assemble itself into chromosomes.

Something  which at the present we dont  know how to do with dinosaur DNA(Mc Carney 2010).  One final factor to consider is the fact that even if a successful dinosaur embryo was created how is it suppose to hatch Even with todays modern technology humans cannot be grown from start to finish from a test tube alone, there are a lot of factors that need a living womb in order for something to develop properly(Thinkquest 2010). In the case of dinosaurs it would have to be an egg, we would have to find an egg with a close genetic makeup to the dinosaur DNA we extracted, implant the necessary chromosomes into it to induce fertilization, make it so that it grows in the proper conditions and in the end expect a normal breathing dinosaur to be the result(Mc Carney 2010). This is pretty idealistic since there could be any number of factors that could go wrong that would create an abomination to nature. What is needed is an artificially controlled environment wherein we can monitor and influence the stages of development however such an environment has yet to be created even for the purposes of creating humans(Pallegrino 1995).
Another technological deficiency would be the lack of effective means of DNA extraction. While it is true that dinosaur DNA might be found within the preserved remains of mosquitoes trapped in amber with todays technology trying to extract such precious DNA would be like trying to find out how a watch works by using a sledgehammer to open it up( Dinobuzz 2010).

A lack of knowledge refers to out current knowledge on genetic engineering. Currently the science of genetic engineering is still a fledgling science with much to learn. It has yet to discover how to effectively create a clone through a single cell alone without having to go through the process of fertilization then conception. A single cell supposedly posses all the information needed to produce and entire body however as such science still hasnt figured out a way to effectively make use of this potential to make the cell multiply on its on to create a living breathing body. Another factor to consider is that with the current limits of our understanding of genetics we still arent able to fully decode the secrets behind DNA on how it actually works and how effectively influence it to create a desired result. So long as we lack knowledge in the science which are dependent on to recreate dinosaurs their rebirth will always be nothing more than a silver screen adaptation of science.

With regard to the topic of a lack of knowledge in our ability to genetically engineer dinosaurs another possibility would be to artificially recreate dinosaur DNA from their descendants namely birds. A problem with this theory would be that we have no idea what dinosaur DNA is actually meant to look like or what to put in or what to discard(Pallegrino 1995).

After discussing the improbabilities in the genetic engineering of dinosaurs the next discussion will be on the theoretical probability on the effective engineering of dinosaurs.

Possibility of Engineering Dinosaurs
At this point in time there is no possible way of actually being able to create a dinosaur. That is true however in the future whose to say that it wouldnt be possible
With the way technology is progressing at the present it is only a matter of time until we are able to successfully recreate complex organisms using only a single cell in labs. At the present all we have are samples of dinosaur DNA which could be present in amber incased mosquitoes and the possibility as well of technology catching up sufficiently for scientists to be able to fully utilize it to create dinosaurs(Ridley 2000).
If were are to use the film Jurassic Park as a reference what would be needed is first and foremost a way to extract DNA from a sample. A soon as this is accomplished we would have to be able to make sure that the DNA is in viable condition. After millions of years incased in amber it is unlikely that it is in complete pristine condition as such there would be a need to add in any missing parts from the DNA strand however the use of amphibian DNA would be a bad choice the best possible choice would have to be to use ostrich DNA since there are among the closest living relatives to dinosaurs with a similarly sized egg. Afterwards if all the gaps have been filled in we would need the DNA to create chromosomes and bond with an appropriate host egg in order to create the conditions to bring back a dinosaur. Since we used ostrich DNA using their eggs would be a good choice as well since they seem to be about the appropriate size(Ridley 2000). After inducing the egg to accept the chromosomes and placing it in the right conditions to hatch we will wait and see exactly what will happen to the egg. If it hatches the experiment was a success,

What was just stated was an oversimplification of the process of what could be used to create a dinosaur. While omitting several important scientific factors it does give a general idea of what could be done to recreate dinosaurs through genetic engineering. All things considering the possibility is still highly unlikely anytime soon without the proper technologies available to recreate the genetic code necessary however if there are people willing to try and give an effort it might just become a reality. The question is though is it actually a good thing to bring back dinosaurs in the first place or will it result in a disaster just like what happened in the film Jurassic Park

Ethical Reasoning
If it was within the realm scientific capability to recreate dinosaurs one question must be asked From an ethical standpoint is it ethical to bring back a species long since extinct that we had no hand in their extinction
Dinosaurs died off several million years ago as a consequence of a meteor that struck the Earth and killed off a vast majority of the species around at that time. While it may be true that dinosaurs were killed off when they were at their peak and their possible potential was wasted their deaths ushered in the age of mammals which helped to shape our current world. By bring back a lost species there could be possible unforeseen consequences to those actions. For example if hypothetically speaking scientists were able to bring genetically engineer a brontosaurus what would it eat (Soja 2000). The diet of dinosaurs from several million years ago is drastically different from what we have in the present. Not only that the viruses and bacterium that are present today are also different from what around millions of years ago. The species of today may have been able to develop a tolerance for it however for a creature that was bred for and environment that is long since gone would have to cope with these changes all at once which might actually cause its death(Soja 2000).

There are also moral aspects why should we as a species bring back another species that we had no hand in destroying If it were species that had disappeared due to our actions then if we had the capability of bringing them back then by all means we should however dinosaurs had their time and then they died off. Bringing back a lost species may seem like a good idea but the resources that would have to be devoted not to mention the maintenance that would be needed does not seem quite worth it. While we are fascinated by dinosaurs as a species that once roamed the Earth bringing them back just to satisfy our whims of seeing real live dinosaurs does not seem morally correct at all. Consider this we would be bringing back dinosaurs only to put them into enclosures and watch them for the sake of our own amusement. There is nothing humanity can gain from them in a material sense (ex. Cures, source of food etc) except a better understanding of how they behave as a species and even then it would have been due to tampering on our part so we really wouldnt be certain if what we created and how they acted is really the way dinosaurs would really act in the wild if they were still alive. They had their chance at life and then they died off maybe just maybe it would be best to leave things as they are.

My hypothesis that dinosaurs can be gene engineered using preserved samples of their DNA which could be obtained from amber deposits containing mosquitoes that lived at around the same time as the dinosaurs and fed on their blood cannot be currently proven due to factors that I mentioned namely we lack the current resources in the form of contaminant free actual dinosaur DNA, that the current of technology is insufficient to fully recreate a dinosaurs DNA yet alone successfully clone a specimen and that with the current level of knowledge that we possess we lack the understanding to know the processes needed to successfully recreate a dinosaur.

After going over the facts we can conclude that with todays current level of technology and with the samples that we currently have available it is impossible to genetically engineer dinosaurs. What is needed is a greater focus by the scientific community, more viable samples that can be worked with or maybe better methods of cellular extraction and  finally for technology in genetic engineering to catch up in order to attempt to see if it is possible to bring back a lost species with samples that are several million years old.

With factors for and against the creation of dinosaurs it all comes down to the willingness of human kind to pursue research into the subject. While it may be true that now we may consider the creation of dinosaurs as something which is merely theoretical in nature and possibly absurd the same can be said of several decades ago when it was thought an impossibility to fly to the moon. In all likelihood it is possible that someday, somewhere, someone will be able to bring dinosaurs back let us just hope that the study is tempered by morality and not the same thought process that initially created the disaster that became the final scenes in Jurassic Park.