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Russian Scientists Make Rare Find: Blood of a Woolly Mammoth


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http://phys.org/news...od-mammoth.html

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Russian scientists claimed Wednesday they have discovered blood in the carcass of a woolly mammoth, adding that the rare find could boost their chances of cloning the prehistoric animal.

An expedition led by Russian scientists earlier this month uncovered the well-preserved carcass of a female mammoth on a remote island in the Arctic Ocean.

Semyon Grigoryev, the head of the expedition, said the animal died at the age of around 60 some 10,000 to 15,000 years ago, and that it was the first time that an old female had been found.

But what was more surprising was that the carcass was so well preserved that it still had blood and muscle tissue.

"When we broke the ice beneath her stomach, the blood flowed out from there, it was very dark," Grigoryev, who is a scientist at the Yakutsk-based Northeastern Federal University, told AFP.

"This is the most astonishing case in my entire life. How was it possible for it to remain in liquid form? And the muscle tissue is also red, the colour of fresh meat," he added.

Grigoryev said that the lower part of the carcass was very well preserved as it ended up in a pool of water that later froze over. The upper part of the body including the back and the head are believed to have been eaten by predators, he added.

"The forelegs and the stomach are well preserved, while the hind part has become a skeleton."

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Ties directly into the TEDtalk about bringing back the mammoth. But should it be done?

Bringing back the mammoth is immoral, according to Alice Roberts, a scientist at the Univ. of Birmingham. Instead of using DNA to bring back extinct animals so they can live in the zoo, Roberts says researchers should focus on saving endangered animals from extinction...
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Ties directly into the TEDtalk about bringing back the mammoth. But should it be done?

... By putting them in a zoo too?

I say do it. If Ice Age has taught us anything, it's that mammoth's are furry, loveable giant creatures who wouldn't harm a fly.

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