


As it turns out, DNA has a half-life of 521 years, according to researchers who studied fossils of extinct giant birds found in New Zealand. Previously, nobody knew exactly how long DNA lasted before decaying, which meant that technically it was possible to extract and read DNA from ancient fossils. A theory which was the premise of the movie Jurassic Park and which allegedly prompted a billionaire to try cloning a dinosaur.

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“This confirms the widely held suspicion that claims of DNA from dinosaurs and ancient insects trapped in amber are incorrect,” said Simon Ho, a computational evolutionary biologist at the University of Sydney in Australia. Sorry, Jurassic Park fans, you're never going to see a breathing Tyrannosaurus rex.

To find out more about why one of our childhood dreams has been just a delusion, and about this important scientific discovery check out the video above.