Scientists Reconstruct Wooly Mammoth's Genetic Code

story
Image copyright: Print Collector/Contributor/Hulton Fine Art Collection via Getty Images

The Facts

  • Using the frozen carcass of a 52K-year-old wooly mammoth found in the Siberian permafrost, scientists have been able to reconstruct the entire genetic code of the ancient animal by using the still-intact, three-dimensional chromosomes of its skin.

  • Previously, the old way of extracting DNA from fossils, according to a geneticist who reviewed the study, only produced "short fragments" of a "four-letter molecular alphabet," which is A (adenine), G (guanine), C (cytosine), T (thymine).

Show more

The Spin

Narrative A

Now that we know that dehydrated fossils can be turned into near-perfect DNA replicas, scientists may be able to do the same for ancient Egyptian mummies or other long-lost animals. Given time, this information may also lead to the revival of extinct animals, or at the very least ones similar to those of ancient times.

Singularity Hub

Narrative B

While novel genome sequencing technology provides incredible insight into the evolution and history of animals, that doesn't mean they can be completely de-extinct. Using a modern-day elephant to produce some sort of reincarnated wooly mammoth may be possible, but that would bring up ethical issues surrounding using animals for such experiments.

Cambridge Core

Metaculus Prediction