Ancient DNA

PyroX_Pro writes "An interesting read over at the BBC says that 400,000 year old DNA has been found. The DNA has been broken into tiny pieces, so there is little chance of bringing any of the species back from the dead. "Soil frozen into the ice has also yielded fragments of DNA of large prehistoric animals, including the woolly mammoth, reindeer and musk ox" "Cloning is in our view impossible at this stage. You'd need the whole DNA and you would have to constuct a primitive cell to put the DNA in," added Mr Gilbert. " Sure he says that now, but they may find a way to splice it with other DNA, and then, well you all saw the movies..."

Comments

Re:Reindeer DNA

[Rick the Red]

"I before E except after C"

"What a weird rule." -- Albert Einstein

Re:Reindeer DNA

[Mr. Slippery]

On an interesting side note, reindeer is one of the few words that doesn't follow the "I before E except after C"

There are many exceptions if you don't use the complete rule:

I before E
Except after C
Or when sounded as A
As in "neighbor" or "sleigh"

"Reindeer" of course being a "sounded as A" case.

There are still enough exceptions - "weird", "seize", "caffeine", "protein", "either", "height" and so on - that some people say the "rule" is nothing of the kind and should be thrown out.