Molecule recovered from woolly mammoth that died 39,000 years ago reveals secrets of the Ice Age
What Yuka – a woolly mammoth that died 39,000 years ago taught us about the Ice Age
- Scientists have successfully isolated and sequenced the oldest-known RNA from Yuka, a juvenile male woolly mammoth that lived approximately 39,000 years ago in Siberia.
- Discovered in 2010 within Siberian permafrost, Yuka's RNA revealed genes activated in its tissue, indicating cell stress, possibly linked to a cave lion attack, around its time of death.
- This breakthrough is significant because RNA is more delicate than DNA and was previously thought to degrade rapidly, with the prior oldest recovery being from a 14,000-year-old wolf cub.
- The analysis offers unprecedented insights into the functional biology and metabolism of woolly mammoths, providing a more comprehensive understanding than DNA or protein studies alone.
- Researchers anticipate that RNA can be recovered from even older remains under suitable conditions, opening new avenues for studying the biology of extinct and extant organisms from various historical periods.