Chickens = Dinosaurs

Everyone has once heard that chickens are the closest living relative to dinosaurs. If you are like me, you were probably shocked upon hearing this. How could something so terrifying and large turn into something so small and puny? Well that is exactly what I’m about to answer.

Theropod Dinosaurs

The simplest answer to this question would be that the DNA found in a majority of dinosaurs matches that of chickens. In a more detailed view, chickens evolved from a type of dinosaur called theropod dinosaurs. Theropod dinosaurs are a special type of dinosaur with hollow bones and have three toes or claws on each limb. The latter feature is similar to what we see on a chicken’s leg.

DNA 

Let’s delve further into the fact that the DNA sequence of chickens matched the DNA sequence of dinosaurs. Specifically, we are talking about the proteins in the DNA. The chicken was the first bird to ever have its genome sequenced or listed and analyzed. After the genome was sequenced, people delved further and found that the sequence was similar to the DNA of a tyrannosaurus rex. 

Appearance

Beyond this, there are also some physical characteristics that tell us dinosaurs and chickens are relatives. They both have arched necks and sharp claws as their toes. We have also found certain evidence that tells us that dinosaurs once had feathers. However, that image has been distorted from our memories.

The Big Question

Now, time for the big question, can we use chicken DNA to bring dinosaurs back to life. The big issue with this is how to reverse engineer the gene. Bringing back dinosaurs would essentially mean that we would need to devolve chickens. In the past, scientists have manipulated chicken embryos to have long tails and sharp teeth. However, it is difficult to know all features that dinosaurs have, because DNA degrades overtime and we can only guess what it takes to create a complete genome. Therefore, that still hangs high up in the air.