Researchers have sequenced the gene map of a long-extinct woolly mammoth using DNA taken from its hair, but don't expect to see them brought back to life anytime soon.
The sequence shows that mammoths were more closely related to modern, living elephants than previously thought, and they found some elements, such as evidence of inbreeding, that may shed light on why the giant creatures went extinct,
"Our data suggest that mammoths and modern-day elephants separated around six million years ago, about the same time that humans and chimpanzees separated," says Penn State biologist Professor Webb Miller
Previous evidence suggests that woolly mammoths then separated into two groups around 2 million years ago, which eventually became genetically distinct. One went extinct 45,000 years ago, while another survived until 10,000 years ago.
Mammoths offer a better target than most extinct animals
many of their bodies have been frozen since death - some so thoroughly that the meat is still edible.
clipped from: www.abc.net.au 