Re: Message from Ralph Molnar

[VanKathy@aol.com]

In this month's Discover, there is an article about a chap who claims to have
extracted a DNA chain from a few dinosaur bone fragments found in a coal
mine.  Furthermore, it was reported that the closest match he could find in
modern animals was neither reptiles nor birds but -- and be prepared to
either be shocked or be in racked with laughter -- mammals  -- and more
specifically whales!  It was reported, however, that the match was not really
that close to anything, but that the segment came closest to whales.  Many
speculate that the sample was corrupted, but even he admits that his margin
of error is huge.

I should give this guy a fair shake since I have read very little on his work
and Discover, though a very good magazine in its own right, was my main
source of info and, as a popular science magazine, is not always a source of
extremely rigorous info.

I've only got a moment or I would fill in specifics for the above, but I was
really wondering if anyone has heard of similar work done on any of the sets
of dino eggs -- in China, England, or even more about the above story.  The
potentials for discoveries on these lines of study are tremendous, and, I
will wager, within the next ten years genetic research will help remove any
remaining doubt about the dinosaurs' warm-blooded metabolism.