Posted on 12/18/2025 12:10:50 PM PST by Red Badger
European researchers have achieved a milestone in paleogenomics by sequencing RNA from a woolly mammoth specimen dating back approximately 39,000 to 40,000 years, roughly three times older than the previous record for ancient RNA.
The RNA was recovered from a well-preserved juvenile mammoth known as Yuka, discovered in northern Siberian permafrost in 2010, according to Love Dalén, a professor of evolutionary genomics at Stockholm University and lead author of a study published in the journal Cell. Dalén told the Wall Street Journal that the findings could aid in identifying the genetic traits responsible for the mammoth’s distinctive woolly coat.
The researcher first encountered the specimen, named after the Yukagir region where it was found by locals, during a visit to Yakutsk, Russia, in 2012.
The skin and muscle of Yuka’s front left leg are exceptionally well preserved – Love Dalen
“While the path to de-extinction might be a little bit longer than most people appreciate, I think this is actually a very important steppingstone on the way,” said Marc Friedländer, an RNA biologist from Stockholm University and a co-author of the paper.
The Wall Street Journal notes:
Yuka’s legs were intact, as were the animal’s foot pads and trunk, covered in reddish-brown fur. The skull, genitalia and internal organs were missing. Genetic analyses revealed the animal was a male; some of the RNA had come from a Y chromosome.
RNA, or ribonucleic acid, adds another level of insight into an animal beyond DNA, Dalén said, showing which genes are active in a cell at one time. DNA contains the recipe for how to make an organism, but RNA passes along the instructions on how to build and operate it.
Although the specific RNA sequences have limited direct application to current editing efforts, experts say the proof that RNA survives millennia expands the toolkit for reconstructing ancient biology. This could help prioritize gene edits for traits like thick fur, cold tolerance, and fat metabolism.
Yuka had been found thawing out of a permafrost cliff near the Siberian coastline. The young mammoth, which lived and died during the last Ice Age some 39,000 years ago, had been buried and frozen for millennia. – Valeri Plotnikov
“If at some point in the future that we want to bring back the mammoth or other extinct animals, then it’s very important to recognize that we need to understand them not just at the DNA level, but also all the other components that make up an animal, like the RNA and the proteins,” Friedländer said.
“The Russians said, ‘Come with me, and we’ll bring you to see something interesting,’” he said. “They walked me into this room, and there’s this dead mammoth lying on an autopsy table.”
Mostly people tend to center on genetic editing but it also involves techniques like cloning and selective breeding. For instance, scientists are trying to revive the Quagga and Aurochs through selective breeding. They actually did de-exinct the Pyrannean Ibex through cloning but the foal was born with a birth defect and only lived a few minutes. They haven’t decided to try again yet.
Thanks
They need to resurrect the Dodo bird. I’m tired of chicken.
Yes, it’s resurrecting a long dead species.............
Well, for some, not so long, like the Passenger Pigeon. That’s only been gone for about a century. But there are definite habitat concerns to take into account for some species. I don’t know where they could put the Woolly Mammoth where it would thrive. I think the Irish Elk would be a better choice, but North America might be a much better place to put it nowadays than in Europe. It’s been gone a while but not insanely long, about 12,000 years give or take. It’s habitat is still around, though not necessarily in its original place.
I think trying to bring back the dire wolf (which they didn’t actually do) was stupid. Why on earth bring back an apex predator without any prey for it to eat? Whereas there are vast swaths of North America where the Irish Elk would thrive today even if it was never here in the past.
The Climate Change kooks will not allow it. They will fart out too much CO2.
I hope they won’t discover DNA of wooly Neanderthal babes.
But...what about elephant farts? Methane emissions on a larger scale than cows.
Where’s Greta?
What could go wrong?
Or at least another male that identifies as a female. Science.
What could go wrong
“Genetic analyses revealed the animal was a male; “
TRANSPHOBES. To the gulag.
Always starts with the Ooohs and Aahs, then comes the running and the screaming...
You know it’s possible. Whatever circumstances caused these animals to be frozen for 40 thousand years could also happen to the humans of that time. I think it’s only a matter of time until they find exactly that, a well preserved Neanderthal or Cro-Magnon body. .......
Do we really need wooly mammoths? Do they make good fur coats? Do they taste gammy or tough? Are their toots climate friendly?
“This is a good development, but the creature I really want to see brought back is the Irish Elk. That would be truly majestic and its habitat still exists.”
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I want Sabre-Toothed tigers cloned in the thousands…and used for riot control. I’m only partially kidding.
They shouldn't assume, it could've identify itself as a female!! 😀
Or non-binary..................
I thought a steer was a castrated bull. How would he breed?
The Highlander
cows bred with Buffalo bulls produce the steers, yes.
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