Scientists discover 75-million-year-old blood in dinosaur fossils


Yes, you read that right — dinosaur blood.
A team of scientists at London's Natural History Museum examined eight fossils from the museum's collection, and they reached a shocking discovery: The fossils contained evidence of ancient dinosaur red blood cells and proteins.
The findings, described in the journal Nature Communications, suggest that the preservation of soft tissues inside fossils could be more common than was previously believed, Science magazine explains. Scientists have discovered what they believed were cellular tissues inside dinosaur bones in the past, but the previous findings weren't confirmed. The newly discovered blood is more reliable than past studies, because the scientists used a new method, called a "focused ion beam," to locate the proteins.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Susannah Maidment, one of the paleontologists behind the study, told Science that finding the soft tissue was "completely unexpected." Still, some experts who weren't involved in the research are skeptical about the find, and Maidment's team hopes to do further research to sequence the amino acids in the protein fragments they discovered. The research could help scientists understand how dinosaur proteins are different from those of modern reptiles.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
-
Some mainstream Democrats struggle with Zohran Mamdani's surprise win
TALKING POINT To embrace or not embrace? A party in transition grapples with a rising star ready to buck political norms and energize a new generation.
-
How to make music part of your vacation
Let the rhythm move you
-
What is credit card churning and why is it risky?
the explainer Churners frequently open new credit cards with the intent of earning a welcome bonus and accessing other perks
-
New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 years
Speed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study finds
Speed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
-
Breakthrough gene-editing treatment saves baby
speed read KJ Muldoon was healed from a rare genetic condition
-
Sea lion proves animals can keep a beat
speed read A sea lion named Ronan beat a group of college students in a rhythmic dance-off, says new study
-
Humans heal much slower than other mammals
Speed Read Slower healing may have been an evolutionary trade-off when we shed fur for sweat glands
-
Novel 'bone collector' caterpillar wears its prey
Speed Read Hawaiian scientists discover a carnivorous caterpillar that decorates its shell with the body parts of dead insects
-
Scientists find hint of alien life on distant world
Speed Read NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected a possible signature of life on planet K2-18b
-
Katy Perry, Gayle King visit space on Bezos rocket
Speed Read Six well-known women went into lower orbit for 11 minutes