Do Dino Cells Prove Young Earth Creationism?

THE CLAIM: The discovery of dino blood cells proves dinosaurs lived very recently



THE REALITY: The discovery of what appear to be Osteocalcin and Hemoglobin fragments in a dinosaur fossil are an astounding discovery to be sure.

However, some Young Earth Creationists have heralded this find as evidence of  ~ 6,000 year old dinosaurs, however there are a number of problems with this interpretation. First, there are roughly 3,000 complete dinosaur skeletons and innumerable more incomplete sets, If dinosaur fossils were really as young as many creationists would like to believe, we'd expect to find surviving proteins in many of them. Yet most dinosaur fossils are fully permineralized. This find is significant insofar as it is literally the only example of what appear to be fragments of dinosaur proteins being preserved. It's clear that whatever process or set of conditions is responsible for preserving these organic compounds are exceptionally rare. The second problem is that the Schweitzer specimen (MOR 1125) was discovered in the Hell Creek Formation which consists of strata from the Upper Cretaceous and lower Paleocene. This indicates rather decisively that it is not the fossil that is young, but rather the organic fragments which are old.


Sources:

http://www.nature.com/news/molecular-analysis-supports-controversial-claim-for-dinosaur-cells-1.11637

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0016574

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2009/08/bone_dry.html

http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/pciesiel/gly3603c/fossils.html

http://www.fossilmuseum.net/fossilrecord/fossilization/fossilization.htm

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/paleo/fossils/permin.html

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/260238/Hell-Creek-Formation


-The Debunkist