Why study dinosaur soft tissues? What exactly preserved them or let them last for so long? We currently have an incomplete understanding of how prevalent dinosaur soft tissue is on the earth, and to what degree it might be preserved in this “non-fossilized” state (i.e. no mineralization) in deposits around the world.

As an Institute, DSTRI is dedicated to locating and characterizing these soft tissues from as many dinosaur remains that we might recover from around the world. We look for collaborative efforts with other tissue labs to partner in the work to understand dinosaur soft tissues, and most importantly, the molecular remains, many of which are still intact as proteins and enzymes.  ​

Nanotyrannus metatarsal original osteocyte (bone) cell

Triceratops frill original osteocyte (bone) cell

Triceratops horn exposed
in the matrix.

Nanotyrannus Osteocyte 

RNA stained Nanotyrannus Osteocyte

 Nanotyrannus Tooth