More evidence that mosquitoes have been assholes for millions of
years   Unlike Jurassic Park, this mosquito wasn’t trapped in
amber. Rather it was discovered in oil shale in northwestern
Montana. When it died, it quickly fell into fine anaerobic
sediment, allowing for this pristine preservation.  Also unlike
Jurassic Park, this mosquito was alive after the age of the
dinosaurs, some 19 million years after the end of the Cretaceous
— an era paleontologists refer to as the Eocene.  Also also,
unlike Jurassic Park, scientists know that DNA molecules are too
complex and fragile to survive fossilization. DNA also has a
very short shelf life. So you can put your cloning kits away.
The Last Blood Meal  But that doesn’t mean other large
molecules, like those big enough to indicate the presence of
blood, can’t survive fossilization.  Indeed, after taking a
closer look at this particular fossil, a team of paleontologists
led by Dale Greenwalt decided to run some tests on what looked
like blood inside its abdomen. The