The Blood-filled Mosquito that Could

The Blood-filled Mosquito that Could

By Marta Palermo, Behavioral Neuroscience, 2017

Picture it. It’s forty six million years ago and you’re in what is known today as Northwest Montana. Surrounding you are monumental trees, tall, rocky peaks, horses and rhinos and more of the exotic fauna of this prehistoric time. In a nearby lake, after a fulfilling meal, a mosquito is caught flying its way around this beautiful primitive scenery until it falls to the surface of the water. Unable to get back up, the creature slowly drowns until it hits the bottom of that same picturesque lake.

Scientists believe that this might be exactly what happened to a fossilized mosquito, newly discovered this mid October. This specimen stayed trapped in mud, and what we now know is shale rock, at the bottom of the lake for millions of years. The team of researchers that brought it back in the daylight was amazed to discover blood within the stomach of the mosquito. This fossil was identified to be the first of its kind, as a blood-carrying mosquito fossilized in shale rock is exceptional compared to the typical insects caught trapped in amber.

Naturally, after hearing of this, the first question that comes to mind is if we can use this trace of blood to genetically recreate whatever animal this mosquito last fed on. Imagine the scientific knowledge that could be obtained about an organism belonging as far back as to the Jurassic Era. This could also allow us to revive the long thought-out dream of a prehistoric themed park, initially introduced to the public by Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park”.

According to Scientific American, Christopher Intagliatahe, author of “Fossil Mosquito Found with Bellyful”, the answer to this inquiry would unfortunately be no. Scientists were found unable to recycle this blood from the fossil or use it to genetically engineer the genes to refabricate the animal species that was last bitten by the mosquito. This is due to the simple fact that only 0.001% of the DNA has currently been successfully recovered from the fossil, an unfortunate, but direct result of the short half-life of DNA being 521 years.

Despite the fact that we sadly are unable to genetically rebuild dinosaurs, scientists have learned something valuable from this new discovery. Using x-rays and mass spectroscopy techniques, scientists discovered that blood leaves behind a specific fingerprint during fossilization thanks to the presence of hemoglobin (the oxygen carrying protein in red blood cells). This can be further utilized in research that will eventually branch out into several different categories, and could ultimately be useful in personalized medicine.

As of now, dinosaurs unfortunately cannot be genetically grown. In the long run, society may all benefit from the advantages deriving from future research stemming from these small, yet significant, discoveries.

See more at:

http://www.nature.com/news/blood-filled-mosquito-is-a-fossil-first-1.13946