Cells extracted
from carcass of frozen mammoth injected into mouse tissues
The
last woolly
mammoth populations died out just over 4,000 years ago, but the
prehistoric giants could soon be back and plodding about just like they
were during the ice age.
Scientists
in Japan claim
to have taken a “significant step” towards bringing the extinct species back to
life, after they transplanted cells extracted from the carcass of a mammoth
into a mouse, where
they subsequently recorded positive biological activity.
The cells
were taken from the 28,000-year-old mummified remains of a woolly mammoth,
named Yuka, found in Siberian permafrost in 2010. The animal, which died when
it was about seven-years-old, is one of the best preserved mammoths known to
science.
The team
extracted tissue samples from the animal’s bone marrow and muscle, which they
described as “well preserved”.
They then
began searching for cell nuclei remains. In total, 88 nucleus-like structures
were collected from the muscle sample.
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