Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
I revisit “The Hemoglobin Challenge” and respond to a viewer who sent me a paper claiming dinosaur “blood vessels.” I give credit where it’s due—some creationist writing has become more careful—but I explain why phrases like “dinosaur blood” or “hemoglobin found” mislead non-experts. I walk through what the 2025 Raman/hemoglobin study actually reports (epitopes and heme-related residues), why “vessel-like materials” is the accurate term, and what is—and is not—preserved (collagen/elastin fragments vs. intact cells). I also summarize how iron-mediated crosslinking and the stability of porphyrins explain long-term molecular remnants without invoking “fresh blood.” The goal is clarity: describe the evidence precisely so Christians and non-Christians, scientists and non-scientists alike can evaluate claims without hype.
Chapters
00:00 Intro & what the Hemoglobin Challenge is
03:58 Where language goes off-track (“dinosaur blood?”)
05:56 “Endogenous” vs. “intact”—why wording matters
06:40 “Vessel-like materials”: accurate description of the evidence
11:30 The viewer’s email: “But the title says blood vessels…”
12:58 What counts as a blood vessel (cells, membranes, matrix)
15:20 What’s preserved: collagen/elastin fragments; what’s missing: intact cells & membranes
18:10 Why fragments persist: iron-mediated crosslinking and protected microenvironments
20:22 The $1,000 bill analogy—remnant vs. the whole thing
Excellent article on preservation of soft tissues in dinosaur fossils: https://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article-abstract/83/5/298/117017/Preservation-of-Soft-Tissues-in-Dinosaur
Articles referenced in this video:
Cleland, Timothy P., Elena R. Schroeter, Leonid Zamdborg, Wenxia Zheng, Ji Eun Lee, John C. Tran, Marshall Bern et al. "Mass spectrometry and antibody-based characterization of blood vessels from Brachylophosaurus canadensis." Journal of Proteome Research 14, no. 12 (2015): 5252-5262. pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.jproteome.5b00675?
Long, B. J. N., W. Zheng, M. Schweitzer, and H. D. Hallen. "Resonance Raman confirms partial haemoglobin preservation in dinosaur remains." Proceedings of the Royal Society A 481, no. 2321 (2025): 20250175.Other articles of note: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspa.2025.0175
Porphyrin-Based Molecules in the Fossil Record Shed Light on the Evolution of Life by Ayala, Schroter and Schweitzer (2024). mdpi.com/2075-163X/14/2/201
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Joel Duff (aka Dr. Duff or The Natural Historian) resources:
About: joelduff.org
Blog: thenaturalhistorian.com
Twitter: twitter.com/NaturalHistoria
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thenaturalhi...
Photography "Portraits of Creation:" beechnutphotography.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I revisit “The Hemoglobin Challenge” and respond to a viewer who sent me a paper claiming dinosaur “blood vessels.” I give credit where it’s due—some creationist writing has become more careful—but I explain why phrases like “dinosaur blood” or “hemoglobin found” mislead non-experts. I walk through what the 2025 Raman/hemoglobin study actually reports (epitopes and heme-related residues), why “vessel-like materials” is the accurate term, and what is—and is not—preserved (collagen/elastin fragments vs. intact cells). I also summarize how iron-mediated crosslinking and the stability of porphyrins explain long-term molecular remnants without invoking “fresh blood.” The goal is clarity: describe the evidence precisely so Christians and non-Christians, scientists and non-scientists alike can evaluate claims without hype.
Chapters
00:00 Intro & what the Hemoglobin Challenge is
03:58 Where language goes off-track (“dinosaur blood?”)
05:56 “Endogenous” vs. “intact”—why wording matters
06:40 “Vessel-like materials”: accurate description of the evidence
11:30 The viewer’s email: “But the title says blood vessels…”
12:58 What counts as a blood vessel (cells, membranes, matrix)
15:20 What’s preserved: collagen/elastin fragments; what’s missing: intact cells & membranes
18:10 Why fragments persist: iron-mediated crosslinking and protected microenvironments
20:22 The $1,000 bill analogy—remnant vs. the whole thing
Excellent article on preservation of soft tissues in dinosaur fossils: https://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article-abstract/83/5/298/117017/Preservation-of-Soft-Tissues-in-Dinosaur
Articles referenced in this video:
Cleland, Timothy P., Elena R. Schroeter, Leonid Zamdborg, Wenxia Zheng, Ji Eun Lee, John C. Tran, Marshall Bern et al. "Mass spectrometry and antibody-based characterization of blood vessels from Brachylophosaurus canadensis." Journal of Proteome Research 14, no. 12 (2015): 5252-5262. pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.jproteome.5b00675?
Long, B. J. N., W. Zheng, M. Schweitzer, and H. D. Hallen. "Resonance Raman confirms partial haemoglobin preservation in dinosaur remains." Proceedings of the Royal Society A 481, no. 2321 (2025): 20250175.Other articles of note: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspa.2025.0175
Porphyrin-Based Molecules in the Fossil Record Shed Light on the Evolution of Life by Ayala, Schroter and Schweitzer (2024). mdpi.com/2075-163X/14/2/201
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joel Duff (aka Dr. Duff or The Natural Historian) resources:
About: joelduff.org
Blog: thenaturalhistorian.com
Twitter: twitter.com/NaturalHistoria
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thenaturalhi...
Photography "Portraits of Creation:" beechnutphotography.com
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