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The perfectly preserved remains of an Ice Age cave bear have been discovered in the Russian Arctic -- the first example of the species ever to be found with soft tissues intact. The astonishing find was made by reindeer herders on the Lyakhovsky Islands, which are part of the New Siberian islands archipelago in Russia's Far North. The bear could be as much as 39,500 years old. Prior to this, only the bones of cave bears had been unearthed, but this specimen even had its nose intact, according to a team of scientists from the North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU) in...

Separately at least one preserved carcass of a cave bear cub found on the mainland of Yakutia, with scientists hopeful of obtaining its DNA. More details of the finds are to be announced soon. Until now only the bones of cave bears have been discovered. The new finds are of ‘world importance’, according to one of Russia’s leading experts on extinct Ice Age species. Scientist Lena Grigorieva said of the island discovery of the adult beast: 'Today this is the first and only find of its kind - a whole bear carcass with soft tissues. 'It is completely preserved, with...

Last summer, a Russian man was strolling along the shore of the local Tirekhtyakh River in Yakutia when he came upon a grisly sight: the severed head of an ancient wolf. The head had been well preserved by the permafrost and still sported a full head of hair and sharp fangs. The man, Pavel Efimov, handed the ancient head over to scientists, who dated it to over 40,000 years ago, or the end of the Pleistocene epoch, according to The Siberian Times. Their analysis also revealed that the wolf was fully grown and was between 2 and 4 years old...

The deliveries promised in the deal depend on supplies from two natural gas deposits located in Siberia – the Chayanda oil and gas condensate field in Yakutia and the Kovykta gas condensate field in the Irkutsk Region. The two together have natural gas reserves of 4.1 trillion cubic meters, but neither has yet been developed. ...“a propaganda spin to justify the $70 billion price tag the state has splurged on” for construction of a pipeline to China. “Usually, the costs for similar state funded projects always overstretch the initial price tag,” ... Industry insiders say Gazprom doesn’t have the technology...

Scientists are analyzing the perfectly preserved remains of a prehistoric horse in a bid to clone the now-extinct animal. Recently discovered in permafrost in the Siberian region of Yakutia, the skin, hair, hooves and tail of the carcass are all preserved. The remains are estimated to be 30,000 to 40,000 years old. Experts believe that the foal was about 2 months old when it died. Semyon Grigoryev, head of the Mammoth Museum in the regional capital of Yakutsk, was surprised to see the perfect state of the find. He noted it's the best-preserved ancient foal found to date. The Siberian...

The frozen carcass of the dark-brown baby horse is from an extinct species is up to 40,000 years old, and the animal was perfectly preserved in the Siberian permafrost in the Batagai crater in Yakutia, the coldest region in Russia. Leading researcher of the laboratory of Mammoth Museum Dr Semyon Grigoriev said: 'Fortunately, the animal's muscle tissues were undamaged and well preserved, so we managed to get samples of this unique find for biotechnology research.' South Korean cloning expert Professor Hwang Woo Suk, currently in Yakutsk, told The Siberian Times that a joint bid is underway to find a living...

© North-Eastern Federal University ==================================================================== A three-month-old horse that lived up to 40,000 years ago has been discovered in the mysterious Batagai depression in Russia’s Yakutia region, nicknamed the ‘Gateway to the Underworld.’ The North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk published the first photo of the “unique” discovery, which was made together with scientists from Kindai University in Japan along with a crew from Fuji TV. The horse was unearthed in perfect condition with its mane, tail and hair well preserved, as it was trapped in the permafrost for 30,000-40,000 years, scientists say. The discovery can help scientists to learn...

MOSCOW: Temperatures reached -67 degrees Celsius in the remote Yakutia region in Russia on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported. Pictures circulating on social media showed people posing with frozen eyelashes as temperatures reportedly fell to -50 degrees Celsius. Temperatures reached -67 degrees Celsius in Yakutia on Tuesday (Jan 16). A video posted on Twitter also showed a cup of boiling water solidifying after being poured out of a window. Blasting boiled water at -46.5C 😄 #Yakutsk pic.twitter.com/G6OdsSiIZ0 — Bolot Bochkarev (@yakutia) January 13, 2018 Residents in Yakutia are normally used to the freezing conditions, with students routinely going to school...

This Siberian village's thermometer broke last night because of how cold it was. Oymyakon, in the Siberian region of Yakutia, is the coldest inhabited village on Earth. Each winter, it records some of the world's lowest temperatures and the town seems frozen in time. On 14 January, Oymyakon got so cold, its brand new thermometer broke after reaching a mind numbing -62C, reports the Siberian Times. In comparison, the only other places to get this cold or colder are unpopulated areas of Antarctica. But locals have reported temperatures far colder than the official -62C on their properties, thanks to their...

Scientists in the Russian Far East have carried out a post-mortem examination of the remains of the only mummified dog ever found in the world. Found sealed inside permafrost during a hunt for traces of woolly mammoths, the perfectly-preserved body is 12,450 years old. The dog, believed to be a three-month-old female, was unearthed in 2011 on the Syallakh River in the Ust-Yana region of Yakutia, also known as the Sakha Republic. Experts spent the past four years analysing the body – which included not just bones but also its heart, lungs and stomach – but only carried out the...

More stuff on the need to accept ethnic diversity in Korea, this time from the Korea Herald. Interestingly, the Korea Herald editorial starts thusly: Korea’s older generations had been taught to take pride in having an ethnically homogeneous fatherland. Racial homogeneity formed the basis of the 5,000-year history of the nation, which was interrupted for 35 years in the 20th century by the Japanese occupation. So, the national identity of the Korean race was emphasized as the source of power and spirit in the struggle against Japanese imperialism. Now, this is questionable on two counts. Firstly, it follows the same...