Blood Found in 115-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Fossil in Brazil

Scientists have discovered preserved blood molecules, including heme, in the fossilized bones of a 115-million-year-old dinosaur from Brazil, challenging long-held assumptions about biomolecule survival over millions of years. The international team found mineralized red blood cells and the manganese oxide hausmannite in a young Aratasaurus specimen, which protected the heme structure and collagen amino acids. The dinosaur lived during the early Cretaceous period in northeastern Brazil. Researchers believe rapid burial in a low-oxygen, microbe-rich environment enabled this exceptional preservation. The findings may open new avenues for molecular paleontology and could theoretically inform the search for life beyond Earth.