Scientists at the University of Florida have effectively cloned a dinosaur, a spokesman from the university said yesterday.The dinosaur, a baby Apatosaurus nicknamed “Spot,” is at present being incubated at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
The scientists take out DNA from preserved Apatosaurus fossils, which were on show at the university’s museum of natural science. Once the DNA was harvested, scientists bring in it into a fertile ostrich womb.
“Ostriches contribute to a lot of genetic traits with dinosaurs,” said Dr. Norman Trudell, a biology professor at UF and the project’s leading scientist. “Their eggshell microstructures are almost the same to those of the Apatosaurus that is why the cloning worked so absolutely.”
Those in the scientific community declare the dinosaur cloning – the first ever of its kind – is a milestone for genetic engineering.
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