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Headline: Scientists find red blood cells in dinosaur fossil in world first
Caption: BY MARK WORGAN Scientists have discovered the first red blood cells ever found in a dinosaur fossil. The finding could transform understanding of how biological molecules survive over geological timescales. An international research team led by Curtin University in Australia identified the mineralised red blood cells and preserved heme molecules in the limb bones of a 115-million-year-old theropod dinosaur, Aratasaurus museunacionali. The fossils were recovered in north-eastern Brazil and contained numerous red blood cells preserved inside tiny channels in the bone known as vascular canals. Although previous studies have suggested the presence of red blood cell-like structures in fossils, the researchers say this is the first time haemoglobin-derived molecules have been chemically confirmed within the cells. The samples contained preserved heme, the oxygen-carrying component of haemoglobin, providing molecular evidence of ancient blood remains. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), was led by John Curtin Distinguished Professor Kliti Grice, founding director of Curtin University's WA-Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre and an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow. "To detect intact heme derived molecules in 115-million-year-old red blood cells is astonishing: this really is a landmark discovery," Professor Grice said. "It not only extends the known fossil record of blood, but also offers a direct molecular window into the physiology of long-extinct animals so we may better understand them and the world they lived in." The red blood cells were mineralised with a substance known as hausmannite, which the researchers believe acted as a natural time capsule, helping to preserve cellular structures and biological components, including collagen amino acids, over millions of years. The team believes the exceptional preservation was made possible by the dinosaur being rapidly buried shortly after its death in an oxygen-poor environment rich in microbes. Researchers from Curtin University's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Brazil's National Museum and Regional University of Cariri, and Johns Hopkins University also contributed to the study. The findings challenge the long-held assumption that certain biological molecules, including haemoglobin, cannot survive over such vast periods. "These findings challenge longstanding assumptions that certain biomolecules such as haemoglobin cannot survive deep time," Professor Grice said. "It opens exciting new avenues for molecular-level palaeontology, allowing us to investigate the evolution of blood, metabolism and even activity levels in ancient animals." Professor Martin Van Kranendonk, head of Curtin University's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said the research could change how scientists understand the preservation of molecular structures over long periods and in challenging environments. He said the findings could also have implications for astrobiology and the search for evidence of ancient life beyond Earth. "This study exemplifies how coordinated efforts across institutions, continents and scientific disciplines can unlock extraordinary insights into ancient life," Professor Van Kranendonk said. The research was supported by a 2021 Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship awarded to Professor Grice. The full paper, titled "Heme signatures in mineralized red blood cells within vascular canals of a 115- million-year-old dinosaur bone", was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Keywords: feature,photo,australia,dinosaur,blood,fossils,palaeontology
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