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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. No mention of this is made in any of the sequels. Their has been a number of Jurrassic Park video games released to act as merchandise for the release of each film. The zombie plague's origins remain ambiguous throughout the film, with some reference to a spacecraft harboring unknown radiation from Venus. See Jurassic Park (video game).. Return of the Living Dead was a satirical take on the subject matter. ISBN 0-465-07379-4. The new edition had a relatively short sales-life, and quickly vanished.

$18 or C$25.50. It also had a new soundtrack, written by Scott Vladimir Licina, whose character (a mentally unstable priest) was the focus of many of the new scenes. The new edition was generally hated by fans and non-fans alike, the general criticisms being that the new scenes did not fit into the movie, and that the soundtrack damaged the film's overall mood. xxix, 194 pp., illus. Russo. BasicBooks, New York, 1997. It had new scenes inserted, which were directed by the movie's Producer/Co-writer, John A. Rob DeSalle and David Lindley. In 1998, a modified "30th Anniversary Edition" was released.

Or How to Build a Dinosaur. Although the character of the African American male is included, he is not the centerpiece of the plot. The Science of Jurassic Park and The Lost World. In the later version, the "hero" of the piece is a woman. For that, they have to recognize particular pieces of dinosaur DNA, which they could hardly do. Night of the Living Dead was remade in 1990 by director Tom Savini. These (bird or crocodylian) hormones need to have the same effect as their original dinosaurian counterparts. As a result, the original film is available through numerous distributors in wildly divergent qualities, is available for free download at the Internet Archive [1] (http://www.archive.org/movies/movies-details-db.php?collection=feature_films&collectionid=night_of_the_living_dead), and has spawned a parody in which the audio track has been replaced with new dialogue showing that (among other things) the heroes attempted to leave the farmhouse in order to get a pizza.

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. The film lapsed into the public domain because of the film makers' neglect to put a proper copyright notice on the film's prints, at a time when proper notice was required to maintain copyright. (That requirement was removed with the United States' Berne Convention Implementation Act and Copyright Term Extension Act, which together provided for automatic copyright on any work once it was put into a "fixed form," and automatic copyright term renewal on all copyrighted works). This technique is based on reproductive cloning, which was used to clone Dolly. In 1999 the original film was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. 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)). It was followed by two sequels: Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Day of the Dead (1985), with a third sequel (Land of the Dead) planned for release in 2005. The next step would be bringing the DNA strands to expression. It must be noted, however, that Romero has denied choosing Duane Jones as a black actor specifically for the part, claiming that he merely gave the best audition.

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). Perhaps the most sympathetic character is a young black man who takes refuge within a farm house. This is extremely difficult, as one would need to know which dinosaur genes are homologous with frog genes. The film comments slyly on racism in the United States and reverses a number of stereotypes. In the book the gaps in the DNA are filled by hybridizing the DNA with frog DNA. Extras working on the film got one dollar and a T-Shirt Stating "I Was A Zombie In Night of the Living Dead!". But DNA cannot survive completely without gaps for tens or hundreds of millions of years. It was shot in black and white, and employed such innovative cost saving special effects as using Bosco chocolate syrup as cinema blood.

Nevertheless, amber is the best preservative, because organic material is preserved. Although a low budget film (it cost around $114,000 to produce) and helmed by a first-time director, the film is considered a horror classic by many film critics, and placed #93 on the American Film Institute's 100 Years, 100 Thrills list. Furthermore, in the fossilisation process, molecules are altered. It was filmed in Evans City, Pennsylvania. There are some problems with this approach:. The plot is simple and familiar to viewers even casually acquainted with the genre: the dead come to life after a mysterious plague that is sweeping through the United States and start attacking the living in order to feed upon their flesh. This has been done before, for example with a Cretaceous weevil in Cano et al. (1993) (no dinosaur DNA was found). Romero which was to transfigure the horror-movie genre.

The dinosaur DNA is extracted from fossilised mosquitos, and this small amount is then amplified by PCR. Night of the Living Dead (1968) is a seminal horror film directed by George A. 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. However, during the filming of the movie, paleontologists came across a larger dromaeosaurid species named Utahraptor, and the larger raptors remained. During the movie's production, the effects supervisors acknowledged that the Velociraptors featured in the movie were sized more like the larger Deinonychus.

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.