In Jurassic Park, what animal’s DNA do they use to fill in the gap in dinosaur DNA?
When Michael Crichton penned "Jurassic Park" in 1990, he tapped into our collective fascination with dinosaurs and cutting-edge science. The book was a bestseller, but it was the 1993 film adaptation that truly captured the world's imagination. Suddenly, everyone was talking about DNA, amber, and the possibility of bringing extinct creatures back to life.
But here's the challenge: how do you take a novel filled with complex scientific concepts and turn it into a blockbuster movie without losing the audience? This is where the filmmakers showed their true genius. They introduced us to Mr. DNA, a charismatic animated character that turns what could have been a dry science lesson into an entertaining and memorable sequence.
In what might be one of the cleverest exposition scenes in cinema history, Mr. DNA takes us on a whirlwind tour of dino-cloning 101. This animated sequence manages to compress pages of scientific explanation into a few minutes of screen time, making the science behind Jurassic Park accessible to viewers of all ages.
During this crash course in paleogenetics, we learn something crucial about the process of bringing dinosaurs back to life. The dino DNA extracted from prehistoric mosquitoes trapped in amber isn't complete. As our animated guide puts it, it's "full of holes." But the scientists at Jurassic Park have come up with an ingenious, albeit ethically questionable, solution to this problem.
They decide to fill in these genetic gaps with DNA from a modern animal. It's a bit like completing an ancient, fragmented manuscript with pages from a contemporary book. The choice of animal for this genetic patchwork is both logical and surprising.
This brings us to our trivia question for today. Can you recall which present-day creature's DNA was used to complete the dinosaur genetic code in "Jurassic Park"?
