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Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park is a novel written by Michael Crichton and published in 1990, which was later adapted as a movie directed by Steven Spielberg. Written as a cautionary tale on unconsidered biological tinkering (in much the same spirit as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein), it explores the consequences of an attempt to re-create certain species of dinosaur to serve as amusement park attractions.

Synopsis (novel)

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

The novel, in an "introduction", is initially presented as a brief report on the consequences of "The InGen Incident", which occurred in August 1989. This "fiction as fact" presentation had been used by Crichton before, notably in Eaters of the Dead and The Andromeda Strain. Shortly after the story begins, a group of scientists (including paleontologist Alan Grant and chaos theory mathematician Ian Malcolm) are invited on an all-expense-paid preview visit to Jurassic Park, a zoo-like amusement park set up by billionaire John Hammond (founder of InGen) on the island of Isla Nublar (near Costa Rica). Hammond wishes to hear the opinions of the scientists and eventually win their approval of the park; Malcolm expresses misgivings from the beginning.

The park contains dinosaurs, who have been recreated from DNA found in mosquitos trapped in amber. Hammond (and his genetic engineers) take great delight in explaining the ways that they created the dinosaurs. The scientists grow apprehensive when they discover that the dinosaurs have been breeding, despite InGen's efforts to keep them sterile.

The action begins when Dennis Nedry, chief programmer of the Jurassic Park controlling software, tries to steal dinosaur embryos as per a deal with Lewis Dodgson, who works for one of John Hammond's competitors, Biosyn. In order to do this, he has to turn off the electricity to the park's many electric fences, and a number of dinosaurs – including a Tyrannosaurus rex and eight Velociraptor – escape from their enclosures, and have a number of encounters with the scientists, who remain inside the park.

Eventually several of the characters escape the island alive (although many, including Hammond himself, do not) and the island is razed by the Costa Rican Air Force, although there is disturbing evidence that several Raptors may have escaped. The book has one sequel, The Lost World.

One of the themes expressed throughout this story and its sequels is that of homeothermic (warm-blooded) dinosaurs; a recent theory popularized by paleontologist Bob Bakker.

The novel is considerably darker in tone and content than the movie, with graphic violence and a higher body count.

Movie

Dennis Nedry stealing the DNA sequences A mosquito in amber A Brachiosaurus seen by John Hammond, Alan Grant, & Ellie Sattler The Tyrannosaurus rex in the Jurassic visitor center with the overhead banner "When dinosaurs ruled the Earth" falling

Steven Spielberg later directed the Jurassic Park movie, filming at the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Kauai in September 1992. Opening in 1993, it starred Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum. Many plot points from the novel were changed or dropped, and the cautionary aspect of the novel was reduced. The film was extremely popular though, grossing $919,700,000 worldwide, the highest ever at the time, and the sixth-highest worldwide box office take for a feature film as of 2004.

Largely credited for the movie's success were its special effects, created by Industrial Light and Magic. Through the use of CGI and conventional mechanical effects, the dinosaurs in the film appeared relatively lifelike, unlike previous effects films like Terminator 2. Jurassic Park marked the Hollywood effects industry's transition from conventional optical effects to digital techniques.

The movie won Academy Awards for Visual Effects, Sound Effects Editing, and Sound, and spawned two sequels, The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and Jurassic Park III (2001). Jurassic Park IV (IMDb (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0369610/)) is currently in production and planned for release in 2006.

Original ending

Originally, the movie was to end with the T. rex skeleton (in the Visitor Center) falling onto the raptors before they attack Alan Grant, Tim, Lex,and Ellie Sattler. Later that was replaced with a living T. rex that attacks the raptors, saving Grant and the others. Quickly they flee with Hammond in his jeep to the helicopter.

Dinosaurs featured in the movie

Brachiosaurus
Dilophosaurus
Gallimimus
Parasaurolophus
Triceratops
Tyrannosaurus rex
Velociraptor

Biological issues

During the movie's production, the effects supervisors acknowledged that the Velociraptors featured in the movie were sized more like the larger Deinonychus. However, during the filming of the movie, paleontologists came across a larger dromaeosaurid species named Utahraptor, and the larger raptors remained.

The Dilophosaurus in the movie is smaller than their 6m (20ft) real-life counterparts, and have a totally speculative frill like the Australian frill-necked lizard and the ability to spit venom.

Biotechnological background

The dinosaur DNA is extracted from fossilised mosquitos, and this small amount is then amplified by PCR. This has been done before, for example with a Cretaceous weevil in Cano et al. (1993) (no dinosaur DNA was found).

There are some problems with this approach:

The mosquito had to have had just one species of dinosaur as its prey to avoid a mix-up
It is unknown which dinosaur the sample contains. It would be impossible to tell which "species" it is, because the DNA sequences would fit somewhere between that of birds and crocodiles. The resolution is very bad.
The dinosaur DNA has to be correct (it has to contain every chromosome) and should contain no gaps
The DNA is mixed with mosquito DNA. PCR is extremely sensitive, and will amplify that too.
Present day PCR can't amplify large quantities of DNA (the entire dinosaur genome). Even if this was possible, it would take a very long time.
PCR needs parts of the DNA to start the reaction (the so-called primers). To get them, the genome needs to be mapped beforehand.
Because DNA is broken down by nucleases and proteolytic enzymes in the mosquito gut, the mosquito would have to be preserved immediately after feeding.

Furthermore, in the fossilisation process, molecules are altered. Nevertheless, amber is the best preservative, because organic material is preserved. But DNA cannot survive completely without gaps for tens or hundreds of millions of years.

In the book the gaps in the DNA are filled by hybridizing the DNA with frog DNA. This is extremely difficult, as one would need to know which dinosaur genes are homologous with frog genes. The use of frog genes is probably a plot device, to allow some females to change gender and breed nevertheless (although gender change is also possible in some more advanced vertebrates).

The next step would be bringing the DNA strands to expression. For that, one would need to inject the dinosaur DNA into the nucleus of a fertilized egg cell of a close relative of dinosaurs (birds or crocodiles (not frogs)). This technique is based on reproductive cloning, which was used to clone Dolly. In the movie, ostrich eggs are used for this purpose. However, the development of an embryo is regulated by hormones in the egg/uterus and the environment. These (bird or crocodylian) hormones need to have the same effect as their original dinosaurian counterparts. For that, they have to recognize particular pieces of dinosaur DNA, which they could hardly do.

References

Cano R.J., Poinar H.N., Pieniazek N.J., Acra A., Poinar G.O. Jr. (1993). Amplification and Sequencing of DNA from a 120–135-Million-Year-Old Weevil (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?holding=npg&cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8505978&dopt=Abstract). Nature, 363:536–538
Weaver, R. F. (2002). Molecular Biology. McGraw-Hill, New York, p. 76. ISBN 0-07-234517-9

Video games

See Jurassic Park (video game).

Their has been a number of Jurrassic Park video games released to act as merchandise for the release of each film. The titles have appeared on a range of platforms including NES, Game Boy, Game Gear, PC:DOS/Windows, SNES, Sega CD, Sega Mega Drive, Playstation 2 and Xbox.

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The titles have appeared on a range of platforms including NES, Game Boy, Game Gear, PC:DOS/Windows, SNES, Sega CD, Sega Mega Drive, Playstation 2 and Xbox. Additionally, Kenneth Anger's 1949 dialogue-free short Puce Moment, which features a dark-haired woman slightly past her prime modelling an array of bright clothing for the camera, may be counted as an influence. Their has been a number of Jurrassic Park video games released to act as merchandise for the release of each film. The appearance of a deliberately stiff and artificial-seeming robin singing merrily to Jeffrey cements the impression of cynicism. See Jurassic Park (video game).. Just as Lynch's opening shots of perfect suburban America quickly prove too good to be true, his ending leaves doubt as to whether normalcy has really been recovered. ISBN 0-465-07379-4. However, whereas Laughton's treatment of this ending seems heartfelt and has in fact been criticized as too saccharine or simplistic, Lynch's ending seems tongue in cheek, or even sarcastic.

$18 or C$25.50. In both Blue Velvet and Night of the Hunter, the trial of the adult world is ultimately followed by a return to innocence and childhood. xxix, 194 pp., illus. If Lynch was indeed influenced by Laughton, the ending of Blue Velvet deserves special attention. BasicBooks, New York, 1997. And in both films the child character loses his father in the first scene, and later seeks the help of a surrogate father figure but is disappointed in this appeal to adult, masculine authority. Rob DeSalle and David Lindley. Both madmen are tied symbolically to a primal, animal or insect world.

Or How to Build a Dinosaur. Both films feature a helpless woman held under the power of a sometimes disarming but ultimately terrifying madman. The Science of Jurassic Park and The Lost World. The story of a child or naīve young man thrust into an unexpected adult world of crime, sex, and murder is common to both films, and the development of this subject as something of a journey towards the redemption of innocence also seems similar. For that, they have to recognize particular pieces of dinosaur DNA, which they could hardly do. Many elements of Blue Velvet are reminiscent of Charles Laughton's 1955 one-shot-wonder, The Night of the Hunter. These (bird or crocodylian) hormones need to have the same effect as their original dinosaurian counterparts. In this second shot, the ear is no longer severed and decomposing, but is whole and clean.

In the movie, ostrich eggs are used for this purpose. However, the development of an embryo is regulated by hormones in the egg/uterus and the environment. When Jeffrey finally comes through his hellish ordeal unscathed, the ear canal shot is replayed, only in reverse, zooming out from the ear. This technique is based on reproductive cloning, which was used to clone Dolly. Notably, the camera does not reemerge from the ear canal until the end of the film. For that, one would need to inject the dinosaur DNA into the nucleus of a fertilized egg cell of a close relative of dinosaurs (birds or crocodiles (not frogs)). Indeed, just as Jeffrey's troubles begin, the audience is treated to a nightmarish sequence in which the camera zooms into the ear canal of the severed, decomposing ear. The next step would be bringing the DNA strands to expression. The severed ear that Jeffrey discovers is also a key symbolic element; the ear is what leads Jeffrey into danger.

The use of frog genes is probably a plot device, to allow some females to change gender and breed nevertheless (although gender change is also possible in some more advanced vertebrates). Yellow Jacket". This is extremely difficult, as one would need to know which dinosaur genes are homologous with frog genes. One of Frank's sinister accomplices is also consistently identified through the yellow blazer he wears, and is referred to as "Mr. In the book the gaps in the DNA are filled by hybridizing the DNA with frog DNA. The bug motif is recurrent throughout the film, most notably in the horrific bug-like oxygen mask that Frank wears, but also in the excuse that Jeffrey offers when he first gains access to Dorothy's apartment: he claims he is an insect exterminator. But DNA cannot survive completely without gaps for tens or hundreds of millions of years. This is generally recognized as a metaphor for the seedy underworld that Jeffrey will soon discover under the surface of his own suburban, Reaganesque paradise.

Nevertheless, amber is the best preservative, because organic material is preserved. The most consistent symbolism in Blue Velvet is an insect motif introduced at the end of the first scene, when the camera zooms in on a well-kept suburban lawn until it discovers, underground, a swarming nest of disgusting bugs. Furthermore, in the fossilisation process, molecules are altered. The tangled relationship which transpires between Jeffrey, sweetheart Sandy Williams (played by Laura Dern), the daughter of a detective, and Isabella Rossellini's femme fatale Dorothy Vallens, is twisted into even sharp relief by Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), a maniacal gangster who gets off by physically abusing others, breathing amyl nitrite (suggested by Dennis Hopper, was helium in Lynch's original script), and playing Roy Orbison's song, "In Dreams", preferably all at the same time. There are some problems with this approach:. The film operates on a number of levels, coming on as both a detective mystery and a kitchen-sink drama. This has been done before, for example with a Cretaceous weevil in Cano et al. (1993) (no dinosaur DNA was found). In the process, he discovers that within his quaint suburban town exists a steamy underworld of kinky sex and brutal violence.

The dinosaur DNA is extracted from fossilised mosquitos, and this small amount is then amplified by PCR. His curiosity piqued, he begins investigating the matter himself. The Dilophosaurus in the movie is smaller than their 6m (20ft) real-life counterparts, and have a totally speculative frill like the Australian frill-necked lizard and the ability to spit venom. In this deeply dark and bizarre film, Jeffrey Beaumont, played by Kyle MacLachlan, returns to his hometown after his father has a heart attack; while crossing a field he discovers a human ear and takes it to the police. However, during the filming of the movie, paleontologists came across a larger dromaeosaurid species named Utahraptor, and the larger raptors remained. The title is taken from a Bobby Vinton song by the same name, which is sung by Isabella Rossellini's character in the film. During the movie's production, the effects supervisors acknowledged that the Velociraptors featured in the movie were sized more like the larger Deinonychus. Blue Velvet is a 1986 film directed and written by David Lynch.

Quickly they flee with Hammond in his jeep to the helicopter. rex that attacks the raptors, saving Grant and the others. Later that was replaced with a living T. rex skeleton (in the Visitor Center) falling onto the raptors before they attack Alan Grant, Tim, Lex,and Ellie Sattler.

Originally, the movie was to end with the T. Jurassic Park IV (IMDb (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0369610/)) is currently in production and planned for release in 2006. The movie won Academy Awards for Visual Effects, Sound Effects Editing, and Sound, and spawned two sequels, The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and Jurassic Park III (2001). Jurassic Park marked the Hollywood effects industry's transition from conventional optical effects to digital techniques.

Through the use of CGI and conventional mechanical effects, the dinosaurs in the film appeared relatively lifelike, unlike previous effects films like Terminator 2. Largely credited for the movie's success were its special effects, created by Industrial Light and Magic. The film was extremely popular though, grossing $919,700,000 worldwide, the highest ever at the time, and the sixth-highest worldwide box office take for a feature film as of 2004. Many plot points from the novel were changed or dropped, and the cautionary aspect of the novel was reduced.

Opening in 1993, it starred Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum. Steven Spielberg later directed the Jurassic Park movie, filming at the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Kauai in September 1992. The novel is considerably darker in tone and content than the movie, with graphic violence and a higher body count. One of the themes expressed throughout this story and its sequels is that of homeothermic (warm-blooded) dinosaurs; a recent theory popularized by paleontologist Bob Bakker.

The book has one sequel, The Lost World. Eventually several of the characters escape the island alive (although many, including Hammond himself, do not) and the island is razed by the Costa Rican Air Force, although there is disturbing evidence that several Raptors may have escaped. In order to do this, he has to turn off the electricity to the park's many electric fences, and a number of dinosaurs – including a Tyrannosaurus rex and eight Velociraptor – escape from their enclosures, and have a number of encounters with the scientists, who remain inside the park. The action begins when Dennis Nedry, chief programmer of the Jurassic Park controlling software, tries to steal dinosaur embryos as per a deal with Lewis Dodgson, who works for one of John Hammond's competitors, Biosyn.

The scientists grow apprehensive when they discover that the dinosaurs have been breeding, despite InGen's efforts to keep them sterile. Hammond (and his genetic engineers) take great delight in explaining the ways that they created the dinosaurs. The park contains dinosaurs, who have been recreated from DNA found in mosquitos trapped in amber. Hammond wishes to hear the opinions of the scientists and eventually win their approval of the park; Malcolm expresses misgivings from the beginning.

Shortly after the story begins, a group of scientists (including paleontologist Alan Grant and chaos theory mathematician Ian Malcolm) are invited on an all-expense-paid preview visit to Jurassic Park, a zoo-like amusement park set up by billionaire John Hammond (founder of InGen) on the island of Isla Nublar (near Costa Rica). This "fiction as fact" presentation had been used by Crichton before, notably in Eaters of the Dead and The Andromeda Strain. The novel, in an "introduction", is initially presented as a brief report on the consequences of "The InGen Incident", which occurred in August 1989. Written as a cautionary tale on unconsidered biological tinkering (in much the same spirit as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein), it explores the consequences of an attempt to re-create certain species of dinosaur to serve as amusement park attractions.

Jurassic Park is a novel written by Michael Crichton and published in 1990, which was later adapted as a movie directed by Steven Spielberg. ISBN 0-07-234517-9. 76. McGraw-Hill, New York, p.

Molecular Biology. (2002). F. Weaver, R.

Amplification and Sequencing of DNA from a 120–135-Million-Year-Old Weevil (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?holding=npg&cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8505978&dopt=Abstract). Nature, 363:536–538. (1993). Jr. Cano R.J., Poinar H.N., Pieniazek N.J., Acra A., Poinar G.O.

Because DNA is broken down by nucleases and proteolytic enzymes in the mosquito gut, the mosquito would have to be preserved immediately after feeding. To get them, the genome needs to be mapped beforehand. PCR needs parts of the DNA to start the reaction (the so-called primers). Present day PCR can't amplify large quantities of DNA (the entire dinosaur genome). Even if this was possible, it would take a very long time.

PCR is extremely sensitive, and will amplify that too. The DNA is mixed with mosquito DNA. The dinosaur DNA has to be correct (it has to contain every chromosome) and should contain no gaps. The resolution is very bad.

It would be impossible to tell which "species" it is, because the DNA sequences would fit somewhere between that of birds and crocodiles. It is unknown which dinosaur the sample contains. The mosquito had to have had just one species of dinosaur as its prey to avoid a mix-up. Velociraptor.

Tyrannosaurus rex. Triceratops. Parasaurolophus. Gallimimus.

Dilophosaurus. Brachiosaurus.