Re: Hello <posted for Matt Collins) and Jurassic Park Posted for D. Campbell)

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Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 19:05:39 -0500
To: paleonet-owner@nhm.ac.uk
From: bivalve@email.unc.edu (david Campbell)
Subject: Re: Hello <posted for Matt Collins) and Jurassic Park
Status: O

On the subject of genetics and Jurassic Park, the claim that they could
ensure that the dinosaurs were all female by genetic manipulation is
doubtful, since most living reptiles (including crocs) have sex determined
by temperature.  Birds have the reverse of the mammalian system, i.e. WW
male WZ female.  Thus, the dinosaur sex determination pattern is unclear.
Also, no one would waste money getting virtual reality displays to look for
missing sequences instead of simply running an alignment program.  As a
whole, I can't think of much that was correct.  I first saw it with a few
colleagues who also were bent on catching errors (the jokes started before
we reached the theater), so this may somewhat color my impression.
Certainly the claim that the fictional paleontologist was at the top of his
profession was an insult to any real one.

David Campbell   "old seashells"
Department of Geology
CB 3315 Mitchell Hall
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill NC 27599-3315
bivalve@email.unc.edu