DNA extracted of bear dead 40,000 years

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., June 3 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have extracted and decoded the DNA of a cave bear dead for 40,000 years, but doing the same for dinosaurs remains science fiction.

In the movie "Jurassic Park," scientists extracted DNA from dinosaurs, but scientists say it is highly unlikely viable genetic material will ever be extracted from dinosaur fossils hundreds of millions of years old, the BBC reported Friday.

However, researchers at the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, Calif., are trying to sequence the DNA of ancient humans, who lived at the same time as cave bears, perhaps to "build" a Neanderthal from their genetic blueprint.

Dr. Eddy Rubin and his team extracted DNA from the fossilized tooth and bones of cave bears found at two sites in Austria -- the cave bear was once common in Europe, but died out about 10,000 years ago, according to the study published in the journal Science.