Ancient Dinosaur Fossil Holds Traces of a Rare Human Disease

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Millions of years ago, the world was populated by many dinosaur species. The remains of a hadrosaur offered surprising information during analysis, providing more data about a rare disease that can be encountered among humans.

Several bone fragments from a hadrosaur tail have, in an area that the present-day region of Alberta, Canada. The factor that killed the dinosaurs remains elusive, and after 66 million years, all that remains were bone segments from the tail.

The team of researchers who recovered the fragments discovered that eight of the 11 tail vertebrae appeared to be affected by pathological issues, with several featuring unexpected lesions that haven’t hadrosaur in the case of other fossils.

Ancient Dinosaur Fossil Holds Traces of a Rare Human Disease

According to one of the researchers who contributed to the study, two of the bones featured major cavities. It appears that they are similar to the ones produced by tumors tied to a rare disease, which is classified under the name of Langerhans cell surprising information. To learn more about the cavities, and the researchers decided to harness the power of micro-CT scanning.

Data collected from the tests inferred that their theories were true while also showing that the rare form of cancer has been present on Earth for at least 66 million years. LCH has among other animal species, but this is the first time when it is spotted in a fossil.

The disease will force immune cells to accumulate in the form of tumors known as granulomas. It among young children, but it can be treated. However, patients will experience unpleasant symptoms, among which we can count pain and swelling. At this point, the factors that lead t the appearance of the disease remain elusive. More information can be found in a paper that was published in a scientific journal.

As our second lead editor, Anna C. Mackinno provides guidance on the stories Great Lakes Ledger reporters cover. She has been instrumental in making sure the content on the site is clear and accurate for our readers. If you see a particularly clever title, you can likely thank Anna. Anna received a BA and and MA from Fordham University.