“Scientists have successfully extracted and sequenced RNA molecules from a ~40,000-year-old frozen woolly mammoth—the oldest RNA ever recovered. RNA can show which genes were active at the moment of death, providing insights about the animal’s metabolism, stress level, immune activity, and even the microbes it carried,” reports The Doomslayer.
Phys.Org adds:
Researchers from Stockholm University have—for the first time ever—managed to successfully isolate and sequence RNA molecules from Ice Age woolly mammoths. These RNA sequences are the oldest ever recovered and come from mammoth tissue preserved in the Siberian permafrost for nearly 40,000 years.
The study, published in the journal Cell, shows that not only DNA and proteins, but also RNA, can be preserved for very long periods of time, and provide new insights into the biology of species that have long since become extinct.
“With RNA, we can obtain direct evidence of which genes are ‘turned on,” offering a glimpse into the final moments of life of a mammoth that walked the Earth during the last Ice Age. This is information that cannot be obtained from DNA alone,” says Emilio Mármol, lead author of the study.
In their work to recreate the woolly mammoth, scientists have already created a “woolly mouse.” “Biotech startup Colossal Biosciences is working to bring back the woolly mammoth, the dodo bird, and the Tasmanian tiger. On the way to achieving these goals, the company has created an entirely new strain: the woolly mouse,” reports The Doomslayer.
A cultivated meat company has genetically engineered woolly mammoth meatballs.
Genetic engineering recently produced pork and bacon that people who are allergic to pork can eat.
A genetically-modified chicken lays eggs that people allergic to eggs can eat.
