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If he's right, the secret may be amber. This semiprecious substance, observes Ward Wheeler, a molecular evolutionist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, provides a unique window on the history of life. Down through the ages, sudden flows of sticky, honey-colored tree resin have ensnared all manner of small life forms, including beetles, spiders, and even lizards and frogs. Moreover, as this natural polymer hardens, it becomes virtually airtight and waterproof. Not only are extinct organisms like Cano's bee preserved in exquisite anatomical detail, but biological molecules such as dna appear to be largely protected from deterioration. When something gets caught in amber, says Wheeler, it's like putting it into a time capsule.
But while amber seems to retard biochemical degradation, it does not prevent it entirely. "As remarkable as amber is," says David Grimaldi, a colleague of Wheeler's. "the DNA it contains is fragmented, which makes it astounding that viable spores could still be completely intact." And that is one reason why many scientists remain dubious about Cano's claims. Another ground for caution is the history of laboratory contamination that has haunted researchers working on ancient DNA. Though Cano took every precaution, laboratory samples can pick up extraneous material as easily as a jacket collects lint. Last year a team of British researchers disclosed that the DNA they thought had come from an extinct mammoth belonged to a lab technician.
According to University of Connecticut biochemist Peter Setlow, Cano is a long way from convincing critics "beyond a shadow of a doubt that the microbe he has isolated is an ancient one." Setlow agrees, however, that Cano has made the most compelling case possible. For instance, he has clearly established that his bacteria -- while related to Bacillus sphaericus, a living resident of apiarian digestive tracts -- are genetically distinct from known microbes. The catch is, something like 95% of the bacteria that populate today's world have not even been identified, much less analyzed by scientists.
Right or wrong, Cano's startling experiment could touch off an amber rush as scientists and companies alike try to get their hands on nuggets of the golden polymer. The leader of the pack is Ambergene, which has spent the past two years "mining" ancient amber from 15 locations around the globe, from Burma to the Baltic Sea. Already, says president and co-founder Robin Steele, Ambergene scientists have identified filamentous fungi similar to those that have produced a distinguished line of antibiotics. They have also brewed batches of ale with ancient yeast. Beer buff Cano was named official taster of the new brew, dubbed Jurassic Amber Ale (a slight misnomer since the yeast used to make it did not come from the Jurassic period, which ended 144 million years ago, but from more recent geological epochs.) Quipped Steele to Cano: "We're not going to drink this. We'll let you drink it and see if you survive the night."