Scientist Aims to Genetically Manipulate Chicken Embryos to Create Dinosaur Traits possibly leading to a Chickenosaurus
From Macleans
The Larsson lab website is here
The dinosaur called an Oviraptor is also called the “scary chicken”. It was about 6 feet tall.
This is not like Jurassic Park where prehistoric DNA is revived, but rather like a new genetic sculpture using manipulation or DNA to create something that looks like something else. It is like taking a new car and making it look like a Model T. A replica car is created.
Hans Larrson was interviewed by the CTV (Canadian Television)
“We should be able to regenerate or essentially make the genetic program mimic the way it was at say, 150 million years ago, and grow a longer tail, change its plumage to something a little bit more primitive, have three-clawed fingers, some teeth,” he said.
The idea for the project came about over a discussion with internationally renowned American paleontologist Jack Horner. Among other things, Horner served as technical adviser for the Jurassic Park films.
The two were talking about how to illustrate evolution. They decided that altering the development of chicken embryos could be “a very public, visual way of doing that,” Larsson said.
“The fundamental questions are animal development. We’re trying to find out what genes are turning on and off, how cells are moving within the embryo.”
The study will focus on chicken eggs because birds are direct descendants of dinosaurs, Larsson said.
The project doesn’t face ethical hurdles because none of the embryos would be hatched yet, Larsson said. The research is funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canada Research Chairs program and National Geographic.
