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Over the years, scientists have found examples of cancerous tumors within the fossilized bones of ancient dinosaurs.
A new study analyzes the fossil of the duck-billed hadrosaurid Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus and found proteins that help pinpoint molecular marks of disease in ancient species.
This animal’s particular cancer—a benign tumor of the jaw called ameloblastoma—also impacts humans, so scientists are exploring whether understanding the disease in its ancient context could lead to novel therapies in our current epoch.
Whether depicted in textbooks or Hollywood films, dinosaurs are often portrayed as powerful beings with sharp jaws, thick hides, and indomitable strength. But just like us, it turns out, dinosaurs were susceptible to a variety of illnesses, diseases, and cancers.
Over the years, scientists have actually discovered cancerous tumors clinging to fossilized bone, giving us insight into the ancient life of this deadly malady. In 2016, a team of U.S. and Romanian scientists announced the discovery of a tumorous fossil belonging to a 70-million-year-old duck-billed hadrosaurid (Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus) that once roamed the Hateg Basin in present-day Romania.
Finding tumors along with dinosaur fossils is relatively rare, and cancer specialists at Imperial College London and Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in the U.K. had different interests in this particular specimen.
“We wanted to see if this tumor in the dinosaur could give us any information about any parallel with human cancers,” Biancastella Cereser, a co-author of the study from Imperial College London, told The Independent, “because the tumor that this dinosaur had was an ameloblastoma, a benign tumor in the jaw, which humans have as well.”
The results of their inquiry, published in the journal Biology, found that using advanced techniques like scanning electron microscopy (SEM) could recover structures resembling red blood cells, proving that soft tissues and cellular components are more common in fossils than previously believed. And before any Jurassic Park fans ask, that does not include DNA.
“Jurassic Park isn’t right, because what they said is dinosaur DNA could be recovered and cloned to resurrect dinosaurs, but we can’t get DNA out of this because it’s broken down by weathering and time,” Justin Stebbing from ARU told The Independent.
Luckily, proteins found in calcified tissues are much more stable, and provide the perfect opportunity for studying the ancient history of cancers that inflict us today. By analyzing how cancers impacted extinct species, the authors hypothesize that they might be able to uncover new methods of cancer suppression.
“Dinosaurs, as long-lived, large-bodied organisms, present a compelling case for investigating how species managed cancer susceptibility and resistance over millions of years,” the authors wrote. “The identification of tumors, such as the ameloblastoma in Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus, suggests that cancer was not an anomaly but a recurring biological challenge in prehistoric ecosystems.”
The researchers are also stressing the importance of preserving specimens for molecular investigations like this. They hope that the information hidden in the fossils of these long-dead animals can now help protect the lifeforms that inherited the planet these dinos once called home.
“Our research, using relatively underused methods, invites further exploration that could hold the key to future discoveries that could benefit humans,” Stebbing said in a press statement. “It is crucial that long-term fossil conservation efforts are co-ordinated to ensure that future researchers have access to specimens suitable for cutting-edge molecular investigations.”
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