• Question: Is it true that Jurassic park could never actually exist due to the half life of DNA which is around 247 years. As well as this could you develop a being of which has the abilities to camouflage its self like a chameleon and have the abilities to hide its self from thermal imagery? As well as this on a side note what allows a snake to find its prey? Is it the radiation from a mass of heat signatures and/or that it can truly smell with its tongue?

    Asked by PurpleSquirtles to Craig, Laura, Partha, Saffron on 24 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Craig Doig

      Craig Doig answered on 24 Jun 2015:

      What an amazing question ! I had a quick good and found this piece which is interesting… take it to your science teacher and he/she will help you understand it.

      http://www.nature.com/news/dna-has-a-521-year-half-life-1.11555
      I’d like Jurassic Park to exist but not sure it will :-\

      As for camouflage part I think thats a few decades away but you could always cover a chameleon in a layer of mud …. then he’d be invisible to to thermal imagery #predator!

      Don’t know much about snakes I’m afraid but I thought they smell with their tongue too !

    • Photo: Laura Wales

      Laura Wales answered on 24 Jun 2015:

      Snakes use a variety of different senses to hunt their prey. The sense(s) snakes use depends on the type of snake and the environment they live in.

      CHEMICALS: As Craig mentions, snakes can “smell” their prey with their tongue.

      VIBRATIONS: Allows the snake to hear movement of their prey and detect where it is.

      HEAT VISION: Specialised heat pits on the snake’s head are sensitive to temperature changes in their environment (ie. body heat from their prey).

      VISION: Tree snakes in particular need to have good eyesight to hunt their prey.

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