Re: Message from Ralph Molnar

[VanKathy@aol.com]

Bill Adlam asked me how I thought that the examination of dinosaur DNA would
lead to confirmation of dinosaurian metabolism.  The most straightforward --
and probably least sophisticated -- path to determining this (or at least
adding a very strong argument for this) would be to compare specific DNA
sequences with that of living animals.  This would identify their closest
living kin, which in all likelyhood, will be birds -- especially considering
that the much of the DNA being studied now comes from remains of some of the
the most avian of dinosaurs.  If the matches are close enough to birds and
far enough from reptiles this in itself would be a fairly strong argument for
an active metabolism.

Though I make no pretenses of being a genetic expert, I know that much intense
 study and rapid progress is being done in the field of genetics -- one of
the most visible projects being the mapping of the human genome (the
recording and decoding of our genetic composition).  The effects of certain
sequences are already fairly well understood and can be used to predict
characteristics in the "owning" individual.  With time, it will probably be
likely to virtually read many DNA sequences and determine many of the characte
ristics of the specimen donating the genetic material.

One very interesting and potentially important new occurrence adding to this
possibilty is the recent development of DNA "computers."  Several have
already been "built" that are capable of solving mathematical problems.  The
field of genetics will probably develop as much the next 50 years as the
field of computers has developed over the previous fifty, and, looking at DNA
computers, may overlap.