Feature Paleontology

Turn Your Head and Roar

Can diagnosing disease in fossils shed light on modern maladies?

By Sid Perkins

- More than 2 years ago

In one of the early scenes of Jurassic Park, the 1993 film in which dinosaurs were resurrected from their DNA, paleobiologist Ellie Sattler leaves her jeep during a guided tour to assist the park veterinarian, who is tending an obviously sick Triceratops.

All skulls from mature Tyrannosaurus rex, such as the Field Museum’s Sue, have holes in the rear-lower jaw that may be signs of long-term infections or bite marks from other members of the species.