Dinosaur experts dispute claim of leather production from T. rex hide
Companies have unveiled plans to create luxury fashion accessories from what is being called Tyrannosaurus rex "leather," but researchers insist it's not the genuine article. The non-traditional leather is to be produced in a lab and marketed as an eco-friendly and cruelty-free alternative, as per a statement from creative agency VML, one of the three organizations involved in the partnership.
The trio, which also includes biotechnology companies Lab-Grown Leather Ltd and The Organoid Company, aims to fashion the new material from fossilized T-Rex collagen, a common protein that forms the basis of skin and other tissues. The material will be engineered using cells with synthetic DNA.
However, dinosaur experts cast doubts on the possibility of real T-Rex leather, stating that it would require DNA from the extinct predator, which isn't available. Furthermore, the scientists have only discovered collagen in bone tissue, not skin, which is essential for leather.
Thomas Holtz, Jr., a vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Maryland, called the T-Rex leather claim "misleading." In an email, Holtz said the company's work seemed more like fantasy. VML did not respond to requests for comment.
DNA begins to deteriorate immediately after an animal dies. While some fragments may survive for millions of years, none have been found from the era of dinosaurs. The oldest preserved DNA on record, from an ancient Greenland ecosystem that contained mastodons, is around 2 million years old, and T-Rex went extinct 66 million years ago with the rest of the non-avian dinosaurs.
Researchers lack well-preserved tyrannosaurid skin samples since soft tissues like skin rarely survive fossilization. Without these samples, their understanding of T-Rex skin remains limited. The upcoming T-Rex-themed leather will be based on T-Rex collagen, although its application for this new material has raised skepticism among scientists who are not involved in the project.
Some researchers like Thomas Carr, associate professor of biology at Carthage College and director of the Carthage Institute of Paleontology in Wisconsin, are doubtful about the accuracy of the project. Carr noted that the fossilized polypeptides, the chains of amino acids that make up collagen, are highly fragmented, making it challenging to reconstruct a collagen molecule specific to T-Rex. Furthermore, he questioned whether there would be a species-specific sequence that distinguishes T-Rex from its closest living relatives.
While Carr expressed skepticism about the T-Rex leather claim, he found the research approach interesting and the idea of creating lab-grown leather for ethical and environmental reasons legitimate. However, he suggested focusing on living animals like cows and crocodiles rather than extinct dinosaurs for a more straightforward approach.
The lab-grown leather isn't just about T-Rex; it's also about making the luxury materials industry more sustainable and ethical. The partnership claims lab-grown leather can reduce the environmental impact of traditional leather production, including deforestation associated with livestock rearing and harmful chemicals used in tanning. Animals won't be harmed during the process.
- The trio of companies, comprising VML, Lab-Grown Leather Ltd, and The Organoid Company, are planning to produce a new material, engineered from fossilized T-Rex collagen, which they aim to use in fashioning luxury health-and-wellness and fitness-and-exercise accessories.
- Despite the innovative approach towards creating eco-friendly alternatives to traditional leather, the use of fossilized T-Rex collagen faces skepticism among scientists, due to challenges in accurately reconstructing a collagen molecule specific to T-Rex and questions about its application in the context of modern technology.
