A new way of mapping the DNA of ancient creatures may allow scientists to give detailed analysis of creatures that are long extinct.
The new method was used to map the genes in the chromosomes of the long extinct wooly mammoth, a relative of the modern day elephant that died out after the last ice age. The new method of study allows scientists to examine and map mammoth chromosomes, rather than the more marginal 'mitochondrial' genes seen in past studies of ancient bones.
The results of the new method of study were published in the most recent issue of the journal 'Science.'
Using the tissue from the frozen jaw of a wooly mammoth that dated back approximately 28,000 years, scientists from McMaster University and Penn State University were able to get a much more detailed analysis of the extinct creature's DNA. The new method is approximately 480 times more detailed than past methods of examining DNA which relied on the analysis of fossilized bones.
The researchers showed that the wooly mammoth shared approximately 98 percent percent of the same DNA as the modern African elephant.
Scientists involved in the research hope to go as far back as 400,000 years using this technique. They also hope that someday it can be used to examine the remains of early humans.
