Key Takeaways:
- 1. Yuka, a 40,000-year-old woolly mammoth, was discovered by tusk hunters in Siberia in 2010 with well-preserved skin, muscle tissue, and hair.
- 2. Scientists successfully sequenced Yuka’s RNA, previously deemed impossible due to fragility, revealing new insights into the mammoth’s biology at the time of its death.
- 3. RNA analysis provides real-time biological information, offering a more detailed understanding than DNA analysis alone.
Yuka, a remarkably preserved woolly mammoth discovered in Siberia, has had its RNA successfully sequenced by scientists, providing new insights into its biology at the time of death. This feat was achieved using specialized techniques to extract fragile RNA fragments from ancient tissue samples. The analysis revealed the genes that were active when Yuka died, shedding light on its final moments and offering a deeper understanding of its biology beyond DNA analysis.
Insight: RNA analysis of ancient specimens like Yuka can offer a unique glimpse into the biological processes occurring in the organism's final moments, complementing the information obtained from DNA analysis and providing a more comprehensive picture of its life cycle.
This article was curated by memoment.jp from the feed source: Ars Technica.
Read the original article here: https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/11/worlds-oldest-rna-extracted-from-ice-age-woolly-mammoth/
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