Posted on 08/03/2019 10:48:05 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
RNA -- the short-lived transcripts of genes -- from the "Tumat puppy", a wolf of the Pleistocene era has been isolated, and its sequence analyzed in a new study by Oliver Smith of the University of Copenhagen and colleagues publishing on July 30 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology. The results establish the possibility of examining a range of RNA transcripts from ancient organisms, a possibility previously thought to be extremely unlikely because of the short lifespan of RNA.
DNA, which encodes the "hard copy" of genes, is known to survive for thousands of years under favourable conditions. But RNA -- the short-lived working copy of a gene, which is transcribed from DNA in the cell and forms the instructions for making proteins -- is rapidly broken down in living tissue by a suite of recycling enzymes. That instability typically continues after death, and because of that, researchers have generally assumed that the likelihood of finding intact an ancient cell's complement of RNA -- its transcriptome -- was vanishingly small. But there have been a few exceptions, mostly in plants, which led the authors to ask whether there might be ancient animal transcriptomes well-preserved enough to be sequenced.
They isolated and analyzed RNA from liver tissue of a 14,300-year-old canid, possibly a wolf or partially domesticated wolf-like creature, that had been preserved in Siberian permafrost until its discovery, as well as tissue from two 19th- and 20th-century wolves for comparison. Using a variety of transcriptomic techniques and quality control measures, the team showed that the RNA sequenced from the Pleistocene-era canid was truly representative of the animal's RNA, with many liver-specific transcripts that matched more modern samples from both wolves and dogs.
(Excerpt) Read more at eurekalert.org ...
https://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2019/03/pistols-or-handguns-95-effective-when.html
Yes I am sure I have large enough calibers.
That’s in 95% of the cases against the slower and much smaller brown and black bears. As for the other 5% ... not to worry - it will take some time before the first Short Faced Bears are grown and released into the wild near you :)
Perhaps about that time they will release the first 30mm hand gun ...
They found a mummified mailman with the seat of his pants missing about four feet away.
Was the death of this wolf from the meteor strike that destroyed Clovis culture in North America. I know that I have read reports of Siberian Mammoths that were flash frozen so they had undigested buttercup flowers in their stomachs. If so this would explain why the RNA could have been preserved. Flash frozen and then buried without ever thawing until now.
Time for the Firestone, et al book?
I had a scary experience with a bear in an upper New York state park. My husband, 2 young children, and another couple were camping by a lake. Our food prep was on a picnic table about 25 feet away and we were by the table where we were going to eat. Suddenly we saw a black bear had grabbed a grocery bag from the other table and was starting to run off with it. My husband picked up a 4’ club (actually a small stripped down pine tree) and started after the bear hollering, “Hey, that’s MY food.” The other guy picked up a slightly smaller club and followed him. His wife grabbed the two children and headed off in the other direction. I ran to the car and pulled my 357 pistol out of hiding and ran toward the men and the bear. All the time I was thinking, how do I shoot the bear if it has one of the men down? I decided, run up alongside and shoot in his ear. Fortunately, the bear dropped the bag. We went to sleep well armed in our tents, no food inside. About 6 in the morning we were awakened by yelling. Someone had camped during the night next door. The bear had come and ripped open the shelter over their picnic table with food on it. We rolled over and went back to sleep. When we got up, those people were gone. The next day the ranger said he was just a Yogi type personality bear.
Have they identified it as a Dire Wolf?
All the time I was thinking, how do I shoot the bear if it has one of the men down? I decided, run up alongside and shoot in his ear.
That is how it is done.
I hunt bears with hounds more then once I have moved in on a bear that had a hound down or was wounded with the pack around it.
I get in close put the muzzle next to his head and drive a bullet into the brain.
Dead bear.
LOL
Ooh! Good call!
The Cycle of Cosmic Catastrophes:
Flood, Fire, and Famine
in the History of Civilization
by Richard Firestone,
Allen West, and
Simon Warwick-Smith
How about wooly rhinos?
I don't like 'em, they tend to horn in. /rimshot
Thanks gleeaikin for the suggestion.
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And giant ground sloths are well... go on Pleistocene welfare hang around, watch the telly, read the racing forms and are just sloths. Big hairy Winslows!
I think I went to school with Harry.
No, I was just making a funny.
I do that.
Sometimes better than others...
Meh.
:)
Winslow should be Onslow
Onslow = Winslow
From old BBC comedy “Keeping Up Appearances”!
Ha! Nicely done.
Pun central going on here this morning.
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