|
Americans learned about amber fossils and
DNA during the summer of 1993, when the movie Jurassic
Park captivated the nation. The dinosaurs of that fictitious
theme park were cloned from the blood meals of mosquitoes
trapped in tree sap over 65 million years ago -- the sap
now turned to amber. Though the premise of Jurassic Park
is fictional, the startling fact that the DNA of ancient
organisms can be preserved for millions of years in amber
is very much a reality. The Poinars led the team of scientists
who made this discovery.
George Poinar began collecting amber specimens
over thirty years ago, but it was only recently, in 1992,
that he, Roberta, and the rest of his research team made
headlines with the news that they had obtained "live"
DNA strands from an insect about 40 million years old. Since
that time, they have remained extraordinarily active, and
in the summer of 1993, their team was able to announce the
successful extraction of preserved DNA strands over 125
million years old. Thus, there is now DNA available for
study dating from the early dinosaur period.
This incredible research provides us with
an unprecedented window to the past. An organism's DNA is
its living blueprint. By studying the blueprints from ancient
organisms, we are in a position to learn a tremendous amount
about ourselves and the world in which we currently live.
The Quest for Life in Amber is the
story of this thirty-year scientific odyssey. Part of the
book is about the science itself and its importance, and
part is about the world of amber and amber collectors --
an exotic world the Poinars journeyed into to conduct their
research. In passages that read more like an Indiana Jones
screenplay than a scientific narrative, the Poinars describe
how what began as a hobby grew into a semi-obsession, one
which ultimately led to their breakthrough scientific discovery.
Along the way they encountered all manner of unusual characters,
from threatening black marketeers and gun-toting guerrillas,
to extraordinarily talented scientists. And, of course,
always in the background were the luminously beautiful specimens
captured in the still life of amber.
George and Roberta Poinar are both affiliated
with the Division of Entomology at the University of California,
Berkeley. George Poinar has led the international research
effort to extract preserved DNA from ancient, amber-encased
insects and plants. As an electron microscopist, Roberta
Poinar has been central to the research effort, and responsible
for many of the laboratory techniques that they have used.
Their work has been described in leading publications throughout
the world, from The New York Times, to Newsweek,
to The Wall Street Journal. They have also been featured
on numerous television programs, from The Today Show
to Nova and other documentaries appearing on public
television. They reside in Berkeley, California.
|
