In article <7bp7eu$hc$2 at whisper.globalserve.net>, on 5 Mar 1999 18:23:26 GMT,
yuku at globalserve.net said...
> Doug Weller (dweller at ramtops.demon.co.uk) wrote on Thu, 4 Mar 1999 20:18:01 -0000:
> : In article <7bmi74$6au$2 at whisper.globalserve.net>, on 4 Mar 1999 18:08:36 GMT,
> : yuku at globalserve.net said...
> : > Superdave the Wonderchemist (thweatt at prairie.NoDak.edu) wrote on 3 Mar 1999 18:45:42 GMT:
>> : > : The problem with DNA testing on such old specimens is that DNA decomposes
> : > : over time. In fact, DNA in your cells is constantly getting damaged and
> : > : decomposing. There are enzymes in your cells that constantly travel up
> : > : and down strands of DNA looking for damage. If the damage is repairable,
> : > : other enzymes come along and fix it. If not, the cell commits suicide.
> : > : In rare cases the cell becomes a cancer cell. Most cancer cells ae
> : > : destroyed by your immune system before they cause any problems, though.
> : > : Without these inspectors and mechanics running around repairing DNA, it
> : > : eventually fragments and decomposes. Ten thousand year-dead mammoths,
> : > : even frozen in permafrost, have little left of their DNA longer than ten
> : > : thousand base pairs. A ten thousand year-old human skull which was not
> : > : frozen, should not yield anything very useful in any DNA test.
> : >
> : > So are you saying that since the tests will be difficult to do, therefore
> : > we shouldn't even try?
>> : Not in the article I'm replying to, perhaps you have a different version that
> : magically changes when you reply to it. I don't see anything that suggests it
> : would be difficult, a lot that says it would be meaningless.
>> You're too clued out, Doug, sorry... Obviously the scientists who were
> doing these tests, before they were stopped by the US govt, didn't think
> they were just wasting their time?
>
How about responding to what's written once in a while, Yuri, instead of going
off on a new tangent. I was commenting on your earlier inability to do this,
so you respond by doing it again!
Doug
--
Doug Weller Moderator, sci.archaeology.moderated
Submissions to: sci-archaeology-moderated at medieval.org
Doug's Archaeology Page: http://www.ramtops.demon.co.uk
Co-owner UK-Schools mailing list: email me for details
