Bone tissue has been sampled and has what is believed to be original DNA molecules of both a Tyrannosaurus Rex and Brachiosaurus. There are no current complete dinosaur strands of DNA to compare the results against, however scientists have the potential to compare the DNA against the next best thing – bird DNA. One theory is we can map most of the genome for dinosaurs against birds and in the future if there are enough unique DNA molecules mapped a dinosaur can be cloned using bird DNA to fill in the gaps.

A team of researchers from North Carolina State University and the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) has found more evidence for the preservation of ancient dinosaur proteins, including reactivity to antibodies that target specific proteins normally found in bone cells of vertebrates. These results further rule out sample contamination, and help solidify the case for preservation of cells – and possibly DNA – in ancient remains.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-analysis-dinosaur-bone-cells-ancient.html