An international team of scientists led by Curtin University has discovered fossilized red blood cells and chemical traces of heme, a component of haemoglobin, inside the 115-million-year-old bones of a meat-eating dinosaur from northeastern Brazil, shattering previous assumptions about how long biological molecules can survive. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, include the first definitive chemical confirmation of molecules derived from haemoglobin inside fossilized dinosaur red blood cells.
The research, led by John Curtin Distinguished Professor Kliti Grice, examined limb bones of Aratasaurus museunacionali, a theropod dinosaur found in Brazil. Researchers identified numerous mineralised red blood cells within vascular canals in the bones. Chemical analysis revealed preserved heme molecules, components of haemoglobin, the protein that allows red blood cells to transport oxygen.
The preservation appears to be connected to a mineral called hausmannite, which helped stabilise the cells and preserve molecular components, including amino acids of collagen, over geological time. The dinosaur's rapid burial in a low-oxygen, microbe-rich environment is also thought to have played a role.
Professor Grice described the discovery as astonishing. “To detect intact heme-derived molecules in 115-million-year-old red blood cells is astonishing: this really is a landmark discovery,” she said. “It not only extends the known fossil record of blood, but also offers a direct molecular window into the physiology of long-extinct animals so we may better understand them and the world they lived in.”
The findings challenge the long-held assumption that haemoglobin-derived molecules could not survive deep time. Professor Grice said they open new avenues for molecular-level paleontology, allowing researchers to investigate the evolution of blood, metabolism and activity levels in ancient animals.
Curtin University’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences head, Professor Martin Van Kranendonk, said the results are changing how scientists understand the preservation of molecular structures over vast timescales. The article says the insights could be valuable to astrobiology, a field that investigates the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe. If biological molecules can persist for more than 100 million years under the right conditions, scientists may need to reconsider where they look for evidence of ancient life beyond Earth.
The study, involving researchers from Curtin University, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, the Brazilian National Museum, the Regional University of Cariri, and Johns Hopkins University, was supported by a 2021 Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Challenges the long-held assumption that delicate biomolecules like haemoglobin cannot survive for millions of years, opening new possibilities for molecular studies of extinct life.
- Provides a direct chemical window into dinosaur physiology, enabling future research on metabolism and activity levels.
- Informs astrobiology: if biological molecules can survive over 100 million years in Earth's fossil record, similar preservation could occur on other planets.
Background
The discovery of fossilised red blood cells in dinosaur bones is not new, but previous studies had not conclusively demonstrated the presence of molecular remains such as haemoglobin within them. This study provides the first definitive chemical confirmation of heme molecules inside fossilised dinosaur red blood cells. The preservation appears to be linked to the mineral hausmannite, which created a natural time capsule. The dinosaur was likely quickly buried in low-oxygen, microbe-rich sediments.
Key Perspectives
Professor Kliti Grice: Called the finding a landmark discovery that extends the known fossil record of blood and offers a direct molecular window into the physiology of long-extinct animals.
Professor Martin Van Kranendonk: Said the study changes understanding of molecular preservation over vast timescales and has implications for the search for ancient life beyond Earth.
What to Watch
- Further molecular analyses of other dinosaur and prehistoric fossils, which may yield similar discoveries.
- Application of these preservation principles to the search for biosignatures on Mars and other celestial bodies.
- Ongoing research into the role of minerals like hausmannite in preserving biological molecules.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
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- SupportedDinosaur blood was found preserved in 115-million-year-old fossils.Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily: “Scientists have discovered remarkably preserved traces of dinosaur blood inside 115-million-year-old bones”
- SupportedAn international team led by Curtin University found molecular evidence derived from haemoglobin in an ancient theropod.Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily: “An international team led by Curtin University found fossilized red blood cells and chemical evidence of blood molecules in the remains of Aratasaurus museunacionali, a meat-eating theropod dinosaur discovered in northeastern Brazil.”
- SupportedThe dinosaur bones were 115 million years old.Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily: “inside 115-million-year-old bones”
- SupportedThe findings provide the first definitive chemical confirmation of molecules derived from haemoglobin inside fossilized dinosaur red blood cells.Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily: “The discovery provides the first definitive chemical confirmation of molecules derived from hemoglobin inside fossilized dinosaur red blood cells.”
- SupportedThe study was led by John Curtin Distinguished Professor Kliti Grice.Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily: “The study was led by John Curtin Distinguished Professor Kliti Grice, founding director of Curtin University's WA-Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre and an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow.”
- SupportedProfessor Grice said, “To detect intact heme-derived molecules in 115-million-year-old red blood cells is astonishing: this really is a landmark discovery.”Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily: “"To detect intact heme-derived molecules in 115-million-year-old red blood cells is astonishing: this really is a landmark discovery," Professor Grice said.”
- SupportedProfessor Grice said the discovery offers a direct molecular window into the physiology of long-extinct animals.Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily: “"It not only extends the known fossil record of blood, but also offers a direct molecular window into the physiology of long-extinct animals so we may better understand them and the world they lived in."”
- SupportedHausmannite helped stabilise the fossilized cells and preserve molecular components, including amino acids of collagen.Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily: “This mineral helped stabilize the fossilized blood cells and preserve their molecular components (including amino acids of collagen) over an immense span of geological time.”
- SupportedResearchers suspect rapid burial in a low-oxygen environment with abundant microbial activity helped preserve the biological material.Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily: “They suspect the animal was quickly covered by sediment in an environment with little oxygen and abundant microbial activity. These conditions may have helped preserve biological material”
- SupportedProfessor Grice said the findings open new avenues for molecular-level paleontology and investigation of blood, metabolism and activity levels in ancient animals.Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily: “"It opens exciting new avenues for molecular-level paleontology, allowing us to investigate the evolution of blood, metabolism and even activity levels in ancient animals."”
- SupportedProfessor Martin Van Kranendonk said the results are changing how scientists understand preservation of molecular structures over vast timescales.Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily: “Professor Martin Van Kranendonk, head of Curtin University's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said the results are changing how researchers understand the preservation of molecular structures over vast timescales and under harsh conditions.”
- SupportedThe findings could matter to astrobiology, and persistence of biological molecules for more than 100 million years under the right conditions may prompt scientists to reconsider where they look for ancient life beyond Earth.Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily: “These insights could be valuable to astrobiology, a field that investigates the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe. If biological molecules or their chemical signatures can persist under the right conditions for more than 100 million years, scientists may need to reconsider where and how they look for evidence of ancient organisms.”
