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Most of Woolly Mammoth Genome Reconstructed

Posted by samzenpus on from the I-want-a-cave-bear dept.

geekmansworld writes "From the Washington Post, 'An international team of scientists has reconstructed more than three-quarters of the genome of the woolly mammoth using DNA extracted from balls of hair, the first time this has been accomplished for an extinct species.' Who wants a pet mammoth?"

2 of 245 comments (clear)

  1. Not quite there yet by thermian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Given that they have yet to work out how many chromosomes the woolly mammoth had, or which of the DNA features are genuine mutations, and which are artefacts caused by damage since the death of the creatures from whom DNA was extracted, there's a fair distance to go yet.

    Still, I don't doubt this is a seriously fun project to be working on. I'd love to get involved.

    --
    A learning experience is one of those things that say, 'You know that thing you just did? Don't do that.' - D. Adams
  2. Re:When did they die out? by owlnation · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There are no stupid questions. But there are stupid places to ask them. Try elsewhere, for better sources of information.

    Really? Considering the amount of SEO spam that's corrupted Google search results, considering the cabals, corruption and low quality of most wikipedia results, and considering that many of the world's experts on most science and technology fields ARE regularly reading slashdot, then I seriously doubt there IS ANY better place to ask a science related question than on this site.

    Of course, the downside is that there are some grumpy, elitist pedants here.