“Jurassic Park” is undoubtedly one of the greatest successes of director Steven Spielberg. However, the film, which premiered exactly thirty years ago, has a mistake that went unnoticed for years. Specifically, it concerns the fossilized mosquito, whose blood is supposed to bring the dinosaurs of the park to life.
What is “Jurassic Park” about? Most people are likely familiar with the film’s plot. For those who are not, here’s a brief summary: Billionaire John Hammond opens a theme park full of living dinosaurs in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
To do this, he revives the extinct giants using the preserved blood of a prehistoric mosquito. That this cannot go well for long is obvious. Soon the dinosaurs are loose, causing quite a bit of chaos.
A Mosquito Becomes a Mistake
The mentioned mosquito in the film comes from the time of the dinosaurs and is supposed to have fed on their blood before it itself was preserved in amber. Now, in the early 1990s, the blood of the mosquito is extracted from its body, and the DNA contained in it is combined with that of amphibians. This results, among other things, in a Tyrannosaurus Rex that frightens the cast of the film, including Laura Dern and Sam Neill.
While the majority of the audience received the film with enthusiasm, others have started to ponder. One of them is entomologist Joe Conlon, who took a closer look at the mosquito shown in the film.
In doing so, he encountered several issues:
- The mosquito shown in the film is male. Only female mosquitoes feed on blood.
- Besides that, the shown species of mosquito is not interested in blood at all.
- DNA breaks down over time. The idea that the mosquito’s DNA would still be detectable in the blood after millions of years is considered implausible. DNA typically has a half-life of 521 years.
All of this, however, does not mean that a few amateur researchers were deterred from attempting an experiment. For example, an Australian mining magnate named Clive Parker attempted to replicate the process shown in “Jurassic Park” in 2012. Unfortunately, without success.
Until a real dinosaur park opens in our world, it will likely be several more years. Until then, the plot of “Jurassic Park,” like that of the corresponding literary basis, remains pure science fiction.
Have you seen the film? Those who look closely may discover some more secrets.
