Woolly mammoths could be brought back from extinction after scientists discover blood and muscle tissue buried in an ice tomb for 10,000 years
- Russian scientists found the blood and muscle tissue samples buried in an ice tomb on the Novosibirsk Islands off the northern coast of Siberia
- It is thought the female woolly mammoth got stuck in a swamp and died more than 10,000 years ago
- South Korean scientists are now planning to use the samples to clone a woolly mammoth and bring it back from extinction
Scientists in Siberia have found the first ever well-preserved sample of blood from a woolly mammoth, which could be used to recreate the extinct species.
The 10,000-year-old blood was sealed inside ice beneath the carcass of a female mammoth.
Preserved muscle tissue was also found from the creature, aged between 50 and 60 when she died, according to the Russian team who made the
discovery on islands off the northern coast of Siberia.
A researcher from the Museum of Mammoths of the Institute of Applied Ecology at the North-Eastern Federal University, pictured, working near a carcass of the female mammoth found on a remote island off the coast of Siberia in May
A researcher from the North-Eastern Federal University in Siberia holds a test tube with a sample of well-preserved blood found in a carcass of a female woolly mammoth. The sample was discovered on a remote island in the Arctic Ocean and is thought to be the first discovery of its kind
REAL LIFE JURASSIC PARK 'NOT AN OPTION', SCIENTISTS SAY
In the hit 1993 film, Richard Attenborough hires scientists who use dinosaur DNA taken from a mosquito preserved in amber to clone the animals and create a theme park.
The resulting chaos showed that man and dinosaur should not co-exist.
Last year a controversial Australian billionaire was believed to be drawing up secret plans for a real life Jurassic Park.
magnate Clive Palmer, who has already embarked on a project to rebuild
the Titanic, was rumoured to be working with the team who created Dolly
It was said the park would be based at Palmer's super resort in Coolum.
But the research has shown the dinosaurs may have to stay on the big screen - as their DNA is just too old to be able to use for de-extinction.
However, Korean scientists are hoping that the samples found on the Siberian woolly mammoth aren't too old.
They plan to take the DNA samples and reassemble them into a full genome.
This could then be injected into embryonic cells which have had their own DNA
taken out, and a suitable living surrogate would be found.
According to The Siberian Times, the blood will now be made available to South Korean scientists seeking to use mammoth DNA to bring creatures back to life.
The find - said to be the first time mammoth blood has been discovered - comes amid a hotly contested debate over the morality of Jurassic Park-style projects to restore extinct creatures to the planet, with some scientists insisting it will be impossible to get exactly the same mammoths as once roamed Siberia.
Semyon Grigoriev, head of the Museum of Mammoths of the Institute of
Applied Ecology of the North at the North Eastern Federal University
told The Siberian Times: 'We were really surprised to find mammoth blood
and muscle tissue.'
He hailed it as 'the best preserved mammoth in the history of paleontology'.
'It is the first time we managed to obtain mammoth blood. No-one has ever seen before how the mammoth's blood flows.'
The mammoth was found in an ice tomb in the New Siberian Islands, or Novosibirsk Islands, and parts of the carcass are especially well preserved because they remained entirely frozen for 10,000 years.
'The approximate age of this animal is about 10,000 years old,' said Dr Grigoriev.
'It has been preserved thanks to the special conditions, due to the fact that it did not defrost and then freeze again.
As well as a sample of blood, Russian scientists also discovered a well-preserved sample of muscle tissue from the woolly mammoth carcass. The blood and tissue were preserved because they were buried in an ice tomb on the Novosibirsk islands for what's thought to have been 10,000 years
'We suppose that the mammoth fell into water or got bogged down in a swamp, could not free herself and died.
'Due to this fact the lower part of the body, including the lower jaw, and tongue tissue, was preserved very well.
'The upper torso and two legs, which were in the soil, were gnawed by prehistoric and modern predators and almost did not survive.'
The hope now is that at least one living cell of the mammoth was preserved 'although even with such well-preserved remains, this may not be the case.'
'It is great luck that the blood preserved and we plan to study it carefully," Dr Grigoriev continued.
'For now our suspicion is that mammoth blood contains a kind of natural anti-freeze.'
Samples taken from the mammoth include 'blood, blood vessels, glands, soft tissue, in a word - everything that we could.
The Woolly Mammoth, related to the elephant, lived on Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean until 4,000 years ago. Scientists are hoping to use well-preserved DNA from a frozen woolly mammoth carcass to bring the species back from the dead
'Luckily we had taken with us on our expedition a special preservative agent for blood.'
The samples have been taken for study to Yakutsk, capital of the Republic of Sakha, also known as Yakutia, the largest region in the Russian Federation.
The carcass weighing around one tonne has been moved to the Siberian mainland and is being kept in a ice storage.
The blood and other samples will then be available to South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk's private bioengineering laboratory, which has confirmed it is working with other mammoth DNA samples in a bid to return the extinct Siberian mammoth to the planet.
The eventual plan is to plant an implanted egg into a live elephant for a 22-month pregnancy.
Earlier this year a group of scientists from around the world met for TEDx conference in Washington, sponsored by National Geographic.
The Dodo evolved without any natural predators, but it was forced into extinction by humans who killed them all for food. It is one of 24 creatures recently discussed during a TEDx conference on bringing animals back from extinction - also known as 'de-extinction'
Another animal considered for 'de-extinction' at the TEDx conference was the Quagga - a species of plains Zebra that once lived in South Africa. The last wild one was shot in 1870 and the last in captivity died in 1883
The group were discussing the possibility of bringing 24 animals back from extinction, also known as 'de-extinction'.
The animals included the dodo bird, the Carolina Parakeet, last
seen in 1904 in Florida, and the Quagga, a plains zebra which once lived
in South Africa but died out in 1883.
However, a real life Jurassic Park is not an option, it is said, because dinosaur DNA is just too old.
Earlier this month, scientists from University of Cincinnati claimed that a giant meteor was probably responsible for wiping out the woolly mammoth, and not hunting, which researchers previously thought was the reason.
They believe a huge meteor smashing through the Earth's atmosphere broke up into ten million tonnes of fiery fragments, scattering over four continents.
These fragments are thought to have released toxic gas which poisoned the air and blacked out the sun, causing temperatures to plummet, plants to die and landscapes to alter forever.
The woolly mammoth was probably wiped out by rapid climate change caused by a meteor striking the Earth, not by overhunting as previously believed
Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that this caused the extinction, countering previous theories that the spread of human settlements and aggressive hunting was to blame.
After the impact, some animal species, like humans, adapted by either moving away, downsizing to adapt to the resources around them, or simply changed their way of life to cope.
But other species, including the woolly mammoth which roamed throughout Europe, parts of Asia and North America in vast numbers, did not adapt and were wiped out in a generation.
The research says the impact changed the course of the Earth's history forever.
According to anthropologist and geology professor Kenneth Tankersley, the change from booming population to total extinction happened 'within a lifetime'.
The University of Cincinnati professor said: ‘Imagine living in a time when you look outside and there are elephants walking around Cincinnati.
‘But by the time you are at the end of your years there are no more elephants. It happens within your lifetime.’
Working with scientists all over the world, the team found evidence of burnt out fragments of carbon - called spherules - in sites on four continents, and all dating back 12,800 years.
A meteor is thought to have stuck the Earth 12,800 years ago releasing toxic gases into the air and temporarily blocking out the sun causing temperatures to plummet
They examined the bedrock dating back to the ice age in 20 archaeological sites in the world which date back to this formative period in the Earth's history.
The timing matches the known dates of the last woolly mammoths to roam the planet, along with other ice age creatures like the sabre tooth tiger.
A meteorite hitting the Earth's surface or simply breaking up as it passed through the atmosphere, would cause a sudden and drastic change in the weather.
Professor Tankersley said: ‘This likely cause climate change and climate change forced this scenario. You can move, downsize or you can go extinct.
‘Humans at the time were just as resourceful and intelligent as we are today. With mammoth off the dinner table, humans were forced to adapt which they did to great success.’
He added that the lessons learned from that time could apply to today as the Earth again goes through a period of ‘rapid and profound’ climate change.
He said: ‘It's a reminder of how fragile we are. Imagine an explosion that happened today that went across four continents.
‘The human species would go on. But it would be different. It would be a game changer.’