Uploaded September 2017 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
In 2003, an exceptionally well preserved T. rex leg bone was unearthed in the Cretaceous rocks of Montana. Upon close examination, Dr. Mary Schweitzer found the bone to contain soft tissue inside - tiny blood vessels and proteins! Some claim that this is evidence of a young Earth, a recent extinction of the dinosaurs. Could this be, or is there another explanation?
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Update: since writing the script for this video, a study came out further questioning that the tissue found belongs to the original T. rex, suggesting again that it is biofilm: rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/284/1855/20170544
Even more recently, a study published in Nature came out further confirming that the tissue did belong to T. rex and detailed, with much greater clarity than before, how the preservation happens: nature.com/articles/s41598-019-51680-1
In short, scientific consensus is no longer as strong as suggested in this animation, the boat was rocked again, but it looks like it's on its way to being settled once again on the position that the soft tissue is indeed from the original T. rex.
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Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/statedclearly
Get a T. rex t-shirt: redbubble.com/people/statedclearly/works/28105774-gloating-t-rex?asc=t&p=t-shirt
Visit Dr. Mary Schweitzer’s website: https://molecularpaleo.wordpress.ncsu.edu/
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Papers cited in this animation:
ORIGINAL DISCOVERY OF SOFT TISSUE:
Soft Tissue Vessels and Cellular Preservation in Tyrannosaurus rex: science.sciencemag.org/content/307/5717/1952
Soft tissue and cellular preservation in vertebrate skeletal elements from the Cretaceous to the present: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1685849
CRITIQUE OF DISCOVERY:
Dinosaurian Soft Tissues Interpreted as Bacterial Biofilms: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2483347
DEFENSES OF DISCOVERY:
Influence of Microbial Biofilms on the Preservation of Primary Soft Tissue in Fossil and Extant Archosaurs:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2953520
Molecular analyses of dinosaur osteocytes support the presence of endogenous molecules: thebonejournal.com/article/S8756-3282(12)01318-X/fulltext
Testing the Hypothesis of Biofilm as a Source for Soft Tissue and Cell-Like Structures Preserved in Dinosaur Bone: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4771714
10 million year old frog bones with marrow preserved: pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geology/article-abstract/34/8/641/129601/high-fidelity-organic-preservation-of-bone-marrow?redirectedFrom=fulltext
IRON’S ROLE IN PRESERVATION:
A role for iron and oxygen chemistry in preserving soft tissues, cells and molecules from deep time: rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/281/1775/20132741
OTHER DINOSAURS WITH SOFT TISSUE DISCOVERED:
Mass Spectrometry and Antibody-Based Characterization of Blood Vessels from Brachylophosaurus canadensis: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4768904
Evidence of preserved collagen in an Early Jurassic sauropodomorph dinosaur revealed by synchrotron FTIR microspectroscopy: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5290320
Soft sheets of fibrillar bone from a fossil of the supraorbital horn of the dinosaur Triceratops horridus: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23414624
Hemoglobin-derived porphyrins preserved in a Middle Eocene blood-engorged mosquito: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24127577
Molecular preservation in Late Cretaceous sauropod dinosaur eggshells ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1599869
In 2003, an exceptionally well preserved T. rex leg bone was unearthed in the Cretaceous rocks of Montana. Upon close examination, Dr. Mary Schweitzer found the bone to contain soft tissue inside - tiny blood vessels and proteins! Some claim that this is evidence of a young Earth, a recent extinction of the dinosaurs. Could this be, or is there another explanation?
=============
Update: since writing the script for this video, a study came out further questioning that the tissue found belongs to the original T. rex, suggesting again that it is biofilm: rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/284/1855/20170544
Even more recently, a study published in Nature came out further confirming that the tissue did belong to T. rex and detailed, with much greater clarity than before, how the preservation happens: nature.com/articles/s41598-019-51680-1
In short, scientific consensus is no longer as strong as suggested in this animation, the boat was rocked again, but it looks like it's on its way to being settled once again on the position that the soft tissue is indeed from the original T. rex.
=============
========
Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/statedclearly
Get a T. rex t-shirt: redbubble.com/people/statedclearly/works/28105774-gloating-t-rex?asc=t&p=t-shirt
Visit Dr. Mary Schweitzer’s website: https://molecularpaleo.wordpress.ncsu.edu/
========
Papers cited in this animation:
ORIGINAL DISCOVERY OF SOFT TISSUE:
Soft Tissue Vessels and Cellular Preservation in Tyrannosaurus rex: science.sciencemag.org/content/307/5717/1952
Soft tissue and cellular preservation in vertebrate skeletal elements from the Cretaceous to the present: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1685849
CRITIQUE OF DISCOVERY:
Dinosaurian Soft Tissues Interpreted as Bacterial Biofilms: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2483347
DEFENSES OF DISCOVERY:
Influence of Microbial Biofilms on the Preservation of Primary Soft Tissue in Fossil and Extant Archosaurs:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2953520
Molecular analyses of dinosaur osteocytes support the presence of endogenous molecules: thebonejournal.com/article/S8756-3282(12)01318-X/fulltext
Testing the Hypothesis of Biofilm as a Source for Soft Tissue and Cell-Like Structures Preserved in Dinosaur Bone: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4771714
10 million year old frog bones with marrow preserved: pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geology/article-abstract/34/8/641/129601/high-fidelity-organic-preservation-of-bone-marrow?redirectedFrom=fulltext
IRON’S ROLE IN PRESERVATION:
A role for iron and oxygen chemistry in preserving soft tissues, cells and molecules from deep time: rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/281/1775/20132741
OTHER DINOSAURS WITH SOFT TISSUE DISCOVERED:
Mass Spectrometry and Antibody-Based Characterization of Blood Vessels from Brachylophosaurus canadensis: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4768904
Evidence of preserved collagen in an Early Jurassic sauropodomorph dinosaur revealed by synchrotron FTIR microspectroscopy: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5290320
Soft sheets of fibrillar bone from a fossil of the supraorbital horn of the dinosaur Triceratops horridus: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23414624
Hemoglobin-derived porphyrins preserved in a Middle Eocene blood-engorged mosquito: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24127577
Molecular preservation in Late Cretaceous sauropod dinosaur eggshells ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1599869
