question: How are scientists able to learn about dinosaur physiology from fossils and is it possible to extract DNA from specimens?
comment: We study the physiology by either physically reordering the bones into their original positions, or putting them into a computer model (which can even simulate their movements if you program in tendons as well). Physiological observations help us to determine how a fossil is related to similar specimens, and radiometric dating helps to put it all in order. We have not been able to extract viable DNA from dinosaur fossils; fossilization is already a rare process with most organisms decomposing entirely, so the chances of testable DNA being found are quite slim. We can, however, learn more by finding better-preserved specimens like when we found the feathers on Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus. & #x200B; Edit: "viable DNA from \[dinosaur\] fossils"
passages: Finally, one of the largest challenge in extracting ancient DNA, particularly in ancient human DNA, is in contamination during PCR. Small amounts of human DNA can contaminate the reagents used for extraction and PCR of ancient DNA. These problems can be overcome by rigorous care in the handling of all solutions as well as the glassware and other tools used in the process. It can also help if only one person performs the extractions, to minimize different types of DNA present.
  
  Section::::See also.
  
  BULLET::::- Ancient DNA
  
  BULLET::::- Ancient protein
  
  BULLET::::- Archaeogenetics
  
  BULLET::::- Fossils
  
  BULLET::::- Human mitochondrial DNA haplogroups
   Despite the problems associated with 'antediluvian' DNA, a wide and ever-increasing range of aDNA sequences have now been published from a range of animal and plant taxa. Tissues examined include artificially or naturally mummified animal remains, bone, paleofaeces, alcohol preserved specimens, rodent middens, dried plant remains, and recently, extractions of animal and plant DNA directly from soil samples.
   Once the material has been obtained, depending on what it is, there are different ways to isolate and purify it. DNA extraction from fossils is one of the more popular practices and there are different steps that can be taken to get the desired sample. DNA extracted from amber-entombed fossils can be taken from small samples and mixed with different substances, centrifuged, incubated, and centrifuged again. On the other hand, DNA extraction from insects can be done by grinding the sample, mixing it with buffer, and undergoing purification through glass fiber columns. In the end, regardless of how the sample was isolated for these fossils, the DNA isolated must be able to undergo amplification.
   The extraction of ancient DNA from dinosaur fossils has been reported on two separate occasions; upon further inspection and peer review, however, neither of these reports could be confirmed. However, a functional peptide involved in the vision of a theoretical dinosaur has been inferred using analytical phylogenetic reconstruction methods on gene sequences of related modern species such as reptiles and birds. In addition, several proteins, including hemoglobin, have putatively been detected in dinosaur fossils.
   BULLET::::1. Bone specimen is cleaned and the outer layer is scraped off
  
  BULLET::::2. Sample is collected from preferably compact section
  
  BULLET::::3. Sample is ground to fine powder and added to an extraction solution to release DNA
  
  BULLET::::4. Silica solution is added and centrifuged to facilitate DNA binding
  
  BULLET::::5. Binding solution is removed and a buffer is added to the solution to release the DNA from the silica
   To create a dinosaur, fifty percent (50%) of the particular dinosaur's DNA is needed. The higher the percentage of DNA, the longer that dinosaur will live, unless it dies by means other than natural causes, such as malnutrition or being attacked by another dinosaur. To obtain a dinosaur's DNA, the player must extract it through fossils or amber. Higher quality specimens will yield more DNA.
   BULLET::::- Damaged template enrichment: Used when constructing an ssDNA library because this method targets DNA damage. When Bst polymerase fills the nick, the sample is treated with uracil DNA glycosylase and endonuclease VIII. These compounds attack the abasic site. The undamaged DNA remains attached to streptavidin-coated paramagnetic beads and can be separated from the sample. This method is specific for samples from late Pleistocene Neanderthals.
   BULLET::::- A study on the growth of forelimb bones of "Smilodon fatalis" as indicated by the anatomy of specimens recovered from the La Brea Tar Pits is published by Long "et al." (2017).
  
  BULLET::::- Paijmans "et al." (2017) present partial mitochondrial genomes of "Smilodon populator" and members of the genus "Homotherium", and identify a late Pleistocene (∼28,000 years old) mandible recovered from the Brown Bank region in the North Sea as a fossil of a member of the genus "Homotherium".
   Section::::History of study.:Changing views and the dinosaur renaissance.
   BULLET::::- Dino Frey and others reported the presence of ichthyosaur vertebrae in the collection of the Faculty of Geoscience in Linares, Mexico. They expressed interest in returning to Mexico to study the remains further and search for new finds.
   Section::::Fossil species described by Sereno or his team.
  
  Dinosaurs
  
  BULLET::::- "Aerosteon"
  
  BULLET::::- "Afrovenator"
  
  BULLET::::- Significant new material of "Carcharodontosaurus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Deltadromeus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Eocarcharia"
  
  BULLET::::- "Eodromaeus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Eoraptor"
  
  BULLET::::- "Erliansaurus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Graciliceratops"
  
  BULLET::::- Significant new material of "Herrerasaurus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Jobaria"
  
  BULLET::::- "Kryptops"
  
  BULLET::::- "Neimongosaurus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Nigersaurus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Pegomastax"
  
  BULLET::::- Three new species of "Psittacosaurus" ("P. meileyingensis", "P. xinjiangensis", "P. gobiensis")
  
  BULLET::::- "Rajasaurus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Raptorex"
  
  BULLET::::- "Rugops"
  
  BULLET::::- Significant new material from "Spinosaurus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Spinostropheus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Suchomimus"
  
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  Other fossil reptiles
  
  BULLET::::- "Marasuchus", an early relative of dinosaurs
  
  BULLET::::- "The African Pterosaur"
  
  BULLET::::- "Sarcosuchus imperator" or SuperCroc
   Section::::Palaeobiology.:"S. occidentalis".
  
  "S. occidentalis" mtDNA sequences were obtained from fossils in Tasmanian caves; the fossils yielded radiocarbon dates between 46,000 and 50,000 years ago. The sequences obtained in this study were from fossils much older than any Australian fossils that previously yielded sequences.
   BULLET::::- Schroeter "et al." (2017) reevaluate collagen I peptides recovered from a specimen of "Brachylophosaurus canadensis" in 2009 and recover additional eight peptide sequences of collagen I from the same specimen.
  
  BULLET::::- An isolated dentary and postcranial skeleton from Dinosaur Provincial Park (Alberta, Canada) is interpreted as likely representing the same skeleton as the holotype skull of "Corythosaurus excavatus" by Bramble "et al." (2017).
   Physiology of dinosaurs
  
  The physiology of dinosaurs has historically been a controversial subject, particularly their thermoregulation. Recently, many new lines of evidence have been brought to bear on dinosaur physiology generally, including not only metabolic systems and thermoregulation, but on respiratory and cardiovascular systems as well.
   Section::::Methods.:Methods of DNA extraction.
  
  Once a specimen is collected from an archaeological site, DNA can be extracted through a series of processes. One of the more common methods utilizes silica and takes advantage of polymerase chain reactions in order to collect ancient DNA from bone samples.
   BULLET::::- An exciting application of PCR is the phylogenic analysis of DNA from "ancient sources", such as that found in the recovered bones of Neanderthals, from frozen tissues of mammoths, or from the brain of Egyptian mummies. Have been amplified and sequenced. In some cases the highly degraded DNA from these sources might be reassembled during the early stages of amplification.
   Several sediment-preserved plant remains dating to the Miocene were successfully investigated. Then, in 1994 and to international acclaim, Woodward "et al." reported the most exciting results to date — mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences that had apparently been extracted from dinosaur bones dating to more than 80 million years ago. When in 1995 two further studies reported dinosaur DNA sequences extracted from a Cretaceous egg, it seemed that the field would revolutionize knowledge of the Earth's evolutionary past. Even these extraordinary ages were topped by the claimed retrieval of 250-million-year-old halobacterial sequences from halite.
   BULLET::::- A study of the bone histology of "Tenontosaurus tilletti" is published by Sarah Werning (2012).
  
  BULLET::::- A study of the bone histology of "Dysalotosaurus lettowvorbecki" is published by Tom R. Hübner (2012).
  
  BULLET::::- A study questioning the interpretation of "Torosaurus" as a junior synonym and a growth stage of "Triceratops" was published by Nicholas R. Longrich and Daniel J. Field (2012).
   When Fry takes Bender to a museum exhibit, he is shocked to find a fossilized dog on display, which he recognizes as his pet from the 20th century, Seymour. For three days he protests in front of the museum by dancing to "The Hustle" by Van McCoy, demanding they give him Seymour's body, which proves successful. Professor Farnsworth then examines Seymour's body, and concludes that, due to his unusually rapid fossilization, a DNA sample can be made to produce a clone, and it would even be possible to recreate Seymour's personality and memory.
   BULLET::::- Haversian bone has been found in turtles, crocodilians and tortoises, but is often absent in small birds, bats, shrews and rodents.
  
  Nevertheless, de Ricqlès persevered with studies of the bone structure of dinosaurs and archosaurs. In mid-2008 he co-authored a paper that examined bone samples from a wide range of archosaurs, including early dinosaurs, and concluded that:
   BULLET::::- De Buffrenil and Mazin found a woven texture in the bones of "Ichthyosaurus", "Omphalosaurus", and "Stenopterygius". This texture is found only in the bones of quickly growing animals, suggesting that ichthyosaurs had high metabolic rates and may even have been warm blooded.
  
  BULLET::::- Massare and Callaway observed that Triassic ichthyosaurs had more elongated body plans than their Jurassic successors.
  
  1991
   BULLET::::- very rapid growth to around 2 tons in the mid-teens (about ½ ton per year).
  
  BULLET::::- negligible growth after the second decade.
   Section::::Research techniques.
  
  Section::::Research techniques.:Acid dissolution.
   Section::::Research and technology.:Amplification.
  
  The field of molecular paleontology benefited greatly from the invention of the polymerase chain reaction(PCR), which allows one to make billions of copies of a DNA fragment from just a single preserved copy of the DNA. One of the biggest challenges up until this point was the extreme scarcity of recovered DNA because of degradation of the DNA over time.
  
  Section::::Research and technology.:Sequencing.
   1984: The first successful DNA sequencing of an extinct species, the quagga, a zebra-like species.
  
  1991: Published article on the successful extraction of proteins from the fossil bone of a dinosaur, specifically the seismosaurus.
  
  2005: Scientists resurrect extinct 1918 influenza virus.
  
  2006: Neanderthals nuclear DNA sequence segments begin to be analyzed and published.
  
  2007: Scientists synthesize entire extinct human endogenous retrovirus (HERV-K) from scratch.
  