From Reactions.

Scientists found collagen preserved in dinosaur bones that are millions of years old, which shouldn’t be possible since peptide bonds have a half-life of around 500 years. So naturally Alex goes on a journey to stabilize collagen herself. With eggs. Like you do.

Earth Month from PBS Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnNZYWyBGJ1F8ofFm4H9UTrHxqU8zngK4
PBS North Carolina’s video on the Crush Truck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpDRtKC92DU

#collagen #dinosaurs #tanning

Find us on all these places:
Subscribe! http://bit.ly/ACSReactions
Facebook! http://facebook.com/ACSReactions
Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/acsreactions/Producers:
Andrew Sobey
Elaine Seward

Writer:
Alex Dainis, PhD

Hosts:
Alex Dainis, PhD

Executive Producer:
Matthew Radcliff

Scientific Consultants:
Michelle Boucher, PhD
Brianne Raccor, PhD
Anne Hylden

Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing
Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: Mike Martin

Reactions is a production of the American Chemical Society.
© 2026 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.

Sources
Tanning Chemistry: The Science of Leather 2nd edition By Anthony D. Covington and William R. Wise
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/1997/cs/cs9972600111
https://news.mit.edu/2024/mit-chemists-explain-why-dinosaur-collagen-survived-millions-years-0904
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11094247/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0012160684900332?via%3Dihub
https://doi.org/10.3109/03008209109152162
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscentsci.4c00971