The Extinction of the Cave Bear

A Herve Bocherens, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Tubingen, Germany, says his colleagues think his research methods a little 'crude'. He dissolves 30,000-year-old animal bones in hydrochloric acid, which is strong enough to burn through metal, soaks the bone solution in lye, cooks it at about 200 degrees Fahrenheit and freeze-dries it until what's left is a speck of powder weighing less than one one-hundredth of an ounce. The method may be harsh, but the yield is precious – ...