How to Build a Dinosaur: The New Science of Reverse Evolution
Jack Horner and James Gorman
Plume
Nonfiction, Dinosaurs/Science
Themes: Dinosaurs
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Description
For decades, paleontology was mostly about digging up fossilized evidence of extinct life-forms and studying them in the lab, using comparative anatomy, modern animals, and educated guesses to reverse the evolutionary clock. Now, new disciplines are joining the effort, such as molecular biologists studying microscopic remains and the new field of developmental evolutionary biology, or devo-evo, which studies embryonic development for clues to macroevolutionary changes. As we learn more about life on Earth now and then, would it ever be possible to actually reverse the genetic clock? Could we unlock the changes in development to "wake" ancestral characteristics? Could we rebuild a dinosaur from a modern chicken?
Review
This is an intriguing book, offering both an update on where modern paleontology is going and a speculation about what we'll be capable of in the future
(barring political roadblocks and/or civilization collapse, that is.) For large stretches, the question of the authors' hypothetical "Chickenosaurus" take a
back seat as they catch us up on new trends and breakthroughs that continually rewrite the proverbial book not only on dinosaurs, but on evolution, genetics,
devolopment, and modern life on Earth. Even when we think we know something - like how simple it should be to grow a tail - we discover we were wrong, leading
to new science and potential breakthroughs with wide-ranging consequences, and not just for the books; the ongoing studies in embryonic tail development, once
considered too basic to bother with, may lead to new preventative measures and treatments for a wide range of human spinal disorders.
Several "guest" scientists are featured, from mentors to colleagues to students of the authors who have gone on to their own boundary-breaking careers. As for
the chicken connection, scientists have long recognized the relationship beween birds and dinosaurs, though the birds branched off long before the fall of the
"terrible lizards" at the end of the Cretaceous. So, theoretically, the genetic instructions that could lead to dinosaur-like characteristics are still there in
the modern chicken, and could be "woken."
Would it be a true-to-life dinosaur? No - at best, it would be an approximation, a way to prove or disprove the developmental changes of millions of years. But
it would be a proof of concept on the theory of evolution, and a powerful visual display.
The authors debate the ethics of "resurrecting" dead species and the potential benefits to science and humanity should such hybrid animals ever be feasable outside
mere hypothesis. As with most ideas, it's a potentially mixed back, with definite pros and cons and several unknowns.
At times, especially in the early parts, the book feels stretched, but overall it's a fascinating look at how much we still have to learn and how interdisciplinary
cooperation, rather than the old compartmentalization, leads to new answers and even more questions. All in all, it's a decent read for us average folk who are
curious about the topic, but not obsessed (or wealthy) enough to afford a PhD.