What did we learn about messing with nature?

[Indomitus]

Maybe they get the DNA from fossils (via some immaculate means)? Thats what you do in Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis... Would explain bringing plants back as well as why Hammond was funding a Grant's dig.

The only problem there is there's no original material whatsoever in a fossil.  It's all replaced by mineral, just done so in such a way that the original shape is maintained.  That's what a fossil is.  So...  no DNA.  Unless you plan to clone a rock.

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

time for me to say something stupid 

couldn't they get it from the sap surrounding the mosquito?

[Chaos]

couldn't they get it from the sap surrounding the mosquito?

Sure, except that 1) amber is fossilized sap and therefore contains no DNA, and 2) ferns a "brush" plants don't produce sap that fossilizes anyway, only tree sap does that. If you managed to find unfossilized sap you could theoretically clone the trees, but that still wouldn't get you the plants.

Sorry to respond to your joke question with a serious answer... that's just how I roll.

[FBX]

Maybe they get the DNA from fossils (via some immaculate means)? Thats what you do in Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis... Would explain bringing plants back as well as why Hammond was funding a Grant's dig.

The only problem there is there's no original material whatsoever in a fossil.  It's all replaced by mineral, just done so in such a way that the original shape is maintained.  That's what a fossil is.  So...  no DNA.  Unless you plan to clone a rock.

Thats what I meant by immaculate.

[AmandaGal]

I swear the book said something about leaves and such getting caught in amber too, which is theoretically possible.

[Darth Geek]

Doesn't it seem like cloning plants would be:

A) pointless and expensive

B) Potentially more dangerous to the ecosystem. Since a different species of plant could overtake existing flora and be a lot harder to eliminate than large easy to spot lizards?

[Junkyard]

It was an ill considered idea with no sound science to back it up, and no importance to the movie itself. About sums it up, I think.

I learned that Nedry is a ridiculously usubtle name for a computer nerd.

[Darth Geek]

I still think it is funny that years ago, when my father watched the movie for the first time, he thaught that Hammond and Nedry were father and son, because Nedry says "Thanks, Dad!" when he is being scolded about his finacial problems.

[Darth Geek]

I learned that Weird Al Yankovic is even cooler than I thaught!

[Chaos]

I learned that Weird Al Yankovic is even cooler than I thaught!

As cool as a nerd can possibly be.

[AmandaGal]

It was an ill considered idea with no sound science to back it up, and no importance to the movie itself. About sums it up, I think.

I learned that Nedry is a ridiculously usubtle name for a computer nerd.

I could make up some sciency stuff to back it up though. Crichton is good at that.  Lemme try to play Michael Crichton.

Many animals, especially insects but some mammals (pandas, for example) are highly dependent on a particular plant species for survival.  They're called "specialists."  If you were to clone and bring back a specialist herbivore, you would naturally have to clone and bring back the plant that they lived with and that supported their life.  Imagine cloning a panda and not bringing back bamboo. Those fellas would be dead in no time, lysine or not. Now, imagine if the dinosaurs were highly specialized in their eating habits.  Today's plants would naturally be different nutritionally than their plants and their bodies might not be made to break them down. 

Imagine if humans were brought back into the dinosaur age. I don't think our bodies would necessarily be able to break those down plants.  Not being a paleobotanist myself, I don't really know much about the difference but I do remember from botany class that cell walls of prehistoric plants were different and that would have a lot to do with the way they were broken down in the body.  I would assume that we wouldn't get as much nutrition from them because our systems aren't designed to break down those types of cell walls.

That being said, some of the plants were poisonous and the gases in the environment are different so you'd think the plants would be different nutritionally anyway.  But, it's fun to BS

As for plants taking over the naturally species, that's a good point and I think Ellie eluded to that with her, "These are living organisms...they'll fight to defend themselves." speech.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Humans are omnivores, there probably would be some plants we could eat, and most of the animals would be edible.  We don't currently have a problem digesting birds and reptiles, so I don't think we would have a problem eating dinos.

Better example would be sending any current grazing animals back (horses, cows, sheep, etc.), no grasses for them to eat.  The first grasses popped up around 50 million years ago.

I haven't found my copy of the book, and I don't remember them talking about how they made the plants.  If you belive the DNA from mosquitoes in amber trick is possible then there would be plenty of pollens in and on bugs.  The oldest bee found in amber is 80 million years old, so they would be a good source of pollen with the genetic codes for the plants. 

I think this also brings up another problem with JP, I remember someone cataloging the dinos and some of them went extinct before the oldest amber we have found.  The oldest amber people have found with bugs in it is around 90 million years old.  Actually it kills the name of the park, since the Jurassic period ended 144 million years ago, I guess Cretaceous Park didn't sound as catchy....

[AmandaGal]

Humans are omnivores, there probably would be some plants we could eat, and most of the animals would be edible.  We don't currently have a problem digesting birds and reptiles, so I don't think we would have a problem eating dinos.

That's true. We are far from specialists. We'll consume anything and live anywhere.  I wouldn't want to go on a dino hunt though.

[Chaos]

Of course, if you're going to start conversations about the feasibility of amber preservation based on the oldest extant sample deposits, would it then also be appropriate to mention the fact that the dilophosaurus NEVER EXISTED AND WAS MADE UP FOR THE BOOK?

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

maybe the plants were indigenious to the park