Scientists studying dinosaur fossils with tumours may hold the key to new human cancer treatments. Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University and Imperial College London discovered preserved structures resembling red blood cells in a 66-70 million-year-old fossil from Romania.
The discovery, published in journal Biology, could help fill in the “jigsaw” of cancer’s molecular building blocks. By studying prehistoric creatures’ tumours, scientists may uncover new insights into human cancer. The study began in 2016 after Professor Justin Stebbing came across an article about a fossil with a jaw tumour.
The remains belonged to a juvenile Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus, a plant-eating “marsh lizard” that lived in Romania during the Cretaceous period. Researchers hope that studying this ancient creature’s tumour could inform future cancer treatments for humans.
Source: https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3312420/how-dinosaur-fossils-could-help-fill-cancers-jigsaw-molecular-building-blocks