The process of de-extinction is a complicated one, not just in terms of technology, but ethically too.
While it may be possible to ‘resurrect’ some extinct species, such as the woolly mammoth or the dodo, bringing back dinosaurs from 66 million years ago and beyond is currently out of the question.
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To begin the process of de-extinction scientists need DNA, and lots of it. Unfortunately, no single fragment of dinosaur DNA has ever been discovered. In fact, the oldest DNA discovered in the fossil record is only one million years old, which goes to show just how fast it can break down once an animal dies.
However, not all biomolecules degrade so quickly. In the last few years, there has been increasing evidence that proteins can preserve over long timescales. In 2025, scientists managed to sequence proteins from the tooth of a 24-million-year-old rhino relative. This has promising implications and suggests there may be even older examples waiting to be found.
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Top image: chaiyapruek2520 / Getty Images
