In 10 years, a tiny dinosaur could be your pet


Watch out Fido, Squawkasaurus Rex just might take your place as man's best friend. According to paleontologist Jack Horner — a long-term adviser to the Jurassic Park franchise and the inspiration for the original film's protagonist Alan Grant — real, living, pet dinosaurs may not be as fictitious as they seem.
As Live Science reports, Horner admits that Jurassic Park's premise — to create dinosaurs from fossilized DNA — is unlikely. However, all modern birds carry sizeable chunks of dino DNA, probably more than they'll ever find in fossils, says Horner, whose lab at Montana State University has been experimenting with bird DNA alteration for more than 10 years.
"The proof of concept has been accomplished," Horner said. "We can get teeth into a bird and just recently a team from Yale and Harvard have managed to retro-engineer [a bird's] beak back into a dinosaur-looking mouth. So we basically have the tail to reinstate, and to transform the wings back into an arm and hand."
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.
While dinosaurs the size and caliber of Jurassic World's ferocious stars are far off, a "poodle-sized", chicken-like dino might not be, though Horner notes it's tough to estimate.
"We might find a couple of these genes tomorrow or it might take 10 years," Horner said. "There is just no way to predict."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Stephanie is an editorial assistant at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Modern Luxury Media.
-
Zohran Mamdani: the young progressive likely to be New York City's next mayor
In The Spotlight The policies and experience that led to his meteoric rise
-
The best film reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Creativity and imagination are often required to breathe fresh life into old material
-
'More must be done'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billion
Speed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on record
Speed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homes
Speed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creature
Speed Read