Revealing the healing of Dino-sores

Scientists have used state-of-the-art imaging techniques to examine the cracks, fractures and breaks in the bones of a 150 million-year-old predatory dinosaur.

 

The University of Manchester researchers say their groundbreaking work – using synchrotron-imaging techniques – sheds new light, literally, on the healing process that took place when these magnificent animals were still alive.

 

The research, published in the Royal Society journal Interface, took advantage of the fact that dinosaur bones occasionally preserve evidence of trauma, sickness and the subsequent signs of healing.
 

 

Dr Phil Manning, one of the paper’s authors based in Manchester’s School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, said: “Using synchrotron imaging, we were able to detect astoundingly dilute traces of chemical signatures that reveal not only the difference between normal and healed bone, but also how the damaged bone healed.

 

“It seems dinosaurs evolved a splendid suite of defence mechanisms to help regulate the healing and repair of injuries. The ability to diagnose such processes some 150 million years later might well shed new light on how we can use Jurassic chemistry in the 21^st Century.”

 

He continued: “The chemistry of life leaves clues throughout our bodies in the course of our lives that can help us diagnose, treat and heal a multitude of modern-day ailments. It’s remarkable that the very same chemistry that initiates the healing of bone in humans also seems to have followed a similar pathway in dinosaurs.”

 

Co-author Jennifer Anné said: “Bone does not form scar tissue, like a scratch to your skin, so the body has to completely reform new bone following the same stages that occurred as the skeleton grew in the first place. This means we are able to tease out the chemistry of bone development through such pathological studies.

 

“It's exciting to realise how little we know about bone, even after hundreds of years of research. The fact that information on how our own skeleton works can be teased out using a 150-million-year-old dinosaur just shows how interlaced science can be.”

 

Phil Manning and his team are taking part in the Royal Society Summer Exhibition this July.  This trailer film gives you an idea of what is in store for visitors.

 

 

 

Professor Roy Wogelius, another co-author from The University of Manchester, added: “It is a fine line when diagnosing which part of the fossil was emplaced after burial and what was original chemistry to the organism. It is only through the precise measurements that we undertake at the UK’s synchrotron, Diamond Light Source and the Stanford Synchrotron Lightsource in the US that we were able to make such judgments.”

 

The experimental set-up at Diamond allowed the group to perform X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) using the microfocus beamline I18. This very modern technique has helped the group to shed light on secrets of the prehistoric past.

A copy of the paper, ‘Synchrotron imaging reveals bone healing and remodelling strategies in extinct and extant vertebrates,’ as well as stunning high-resolution images are available on request.

 

Gnarled predatory dinosaur skeleton coming to UK:

This study proves that there is still a plethora of new information that can be gleaned from specimens within museum collections and the research will be on show at this year’s Royal Society Summer Science, which runs from 1 to 6 July in London. The centrepiece of the X-Appeal Exhibit will be a 7.3-metre-long predatory dinosaur, Gorgosaurus, surrounded by a series of experiments exploring how to use the electromagnetic spectrum to image, analyse and investigate this dinosaur’s rather gruesome past. The week-long science festival features 22 exhibits from the forefront of British innovation. You can meet the scientists behind cutting edge science and technology exploring everything from antibiotics to x-rays.

 

For further information about the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition visit http://sse.royalsociety.org/2014.