Chromosomes found in a 52,000-year-old freeze-dried woolly mammoth may help scientists determine its genetic code, a June study revealed.
The first-of-its-kind research published in the journal Cell is an enormous step forward in sequencing a complete woolly mammoth genome, bringing the long-extinct beast closer to revival. “Until now, we could only read small fragments of ancient DNA,” study co-author Juan Antonio Rodriguez told LiveScience in an email. “These fragments were about 100 letters of DNA, but we did not know what order they had in the mammoth genome. It is like separated pages of a book, but without the page number.”
Scientists can now “put those pages in order,” Rodriguez noted, potentially bringing the Pleistocene-dwelling creature to a zoo near you all too soon.
Today’s an exciting day for ancient DNA: Scientists have revealed the 3D structure of a woolly mammoth’s genome for the first time in @CellCellPress. Check out my story @livescience with insights from co-authors @odudcha & Juan Antonio Rodríguez Pérez:https://t.co/gdlcRqqKQP
— Sascha Pare (@saschapare) July 11, 2024
The woolly mammoth used in the study is nicknamed YakInf, and was discovered in 2018 near Belaya Gora in Siberia, Live Science noted. She died some 52,000 years ago, freezing in such a way that her carcass, cells, and chromosomes remain intact.
Under certain conditions, a process called glass transition occurs. This is essentially a dehydration process at very cold temperatures, slowing down degradation and increasing “glassy” preservations. (RELATED: Newsmax’s Carl Higbie Suggests People Start Hunting Men Who Hurt Women Since Wooly Mammoths Are Extinct)
Using those chromosomes, the research team was able to highlight key differences between woolly mammoths and their modern relatives, the elephant. The purpose of the ongoing project is not de-extinction, “but to learn from the past to inform future decisions,” co-author Olga Dudchenko told Live Science.
Ugh, fine.
