Israeli Researchers Find Modern Tumor in Dinosaur Tail

The Fellowship  |  February 18, 2020

Dinosaur fossils from 66 million years ago are helping scientists discover more about LCH, a tumor that affects children today, reports the Times of Israel:

“The dinosaur belonged to the genus Hadrosaurus, also known as ‘duck-billed dinosaurs’ — herbivores common almost all over the world about 66-80 million years ago.”

The researchers suspected that the specific shape of the cavities could indicate they were created by the tumor known as LCH (Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis), which is known to appear in children under 10 years old and causes great pain, though it is not usually life threatening.

The fossils were sent to Tel Aviv University, which is equipped with an advanced micro-CT scanner.