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Australian scientists have carried out a study that determines thatall links in the DNA strand, preserved at the ideal temperature of 5 degrees Celsius, would be completely destroyed after 6.8 million years, which is incompatible with the idea of finding intact genetic material in a dinosaur fossil from 80 million years ago, an essential fact of the argument ofJurassic Park, the famous book by Michael Crichton covered by Steven Spielberg. The team of researchers, led by Michael Bunce, has obtained these data from an analysis of158 fossilized bones belonging to three different species of moa, an extinct group of ostrich-like birds that inhabited New Zealand millions of years ago.

“It has been difficult to estimate the rate of DNA breakdown, because finding a large pool of DNA in fossils that you can make meaningful comparisons with is extremely rare,” Bunce said. In addition, he explained that environmental conditions, such as temperature or soil chemistry, and even the time of year the animal died, can affect the process of DNA deterioration.

The moa fossil bone specimens used are dated between 600 and 8,000 years old, and by looking at the varying degrees of DNA degradation in each sample, the team was able to calculate a DNA half-life of 521 years. Half-life is the amount of time it takes for a quantity of DNA to halve.

At work, published in the magazineRoyal Society B, these data were extrapolated to other places, taking into account the variation in temperature. Thus, they determined what would happen to DNA in an icy or slightly warmer environment. Bunce has pointed out that, if the decomposition rate found is accurate, only “something like Jurassic Park” could be made with fossils that are one million years old and preserved in frozen environments.