http://slothcentral.com/archives/1184 A 12,000 year-old mystery in SW Iowa Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:09:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 http://slothcentral.com/archives/1184/comment-page-1#comment-2114 Don Johnson Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:02:28 +0000 http://slothcentral.com/?p=1184#comment-2114 Hopefully Beth and Andy will be able to recover DNA from the Tarkio Valley sloth bones. I wonder if proteins can be sequenced if the DNA tests are unsuccessful. I know that Dr. Mary Schweitzer (North Carolina State University) and her colleagues were able to isolate protein fragments from a 68-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex femur when tests for DNA failed. The fragments were somewhat useful in establishing evolutionary relationships with larger animal groups. Protein may be less useful here, especially if there is not a database of ground sloth proteins for comparison. Hopefully Beth and Andy will be able to recover DNA from the Tarkio Valley sloth bones. I wonder if proteins can be sequenced if the DNA tests are unsuccessful. I know that Dr. Mary Schweitzer (North Carolina State University) and her colleagues were able to isolate protein fragments from a 68-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex femur when tests for DNA failed. The fragments were somewhat useful in establishing evolutionary relationships with larger animal groups. Protein may be less useful here, especially if there is not a database of ground sloth proteins for comparison.

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