Investigation 2: DNARecreating the mammoth

THE MAMMOTH Frozen mammoth corpses were found all over

the world A radiocarbon analysis showed that the wooly

mammoth was in Northern Europe until just 14,000 years ago

The mammoth was previously thought to have died out due to over hunting, yet a new study showed that it was actually a change in climate and therefore a loss of food that killed the mammoth

EXTINCTION The mammoth, unlike previously thought, did

NOT die out due to over hunting. Instead the majority of the mammoths died out due to climate change, and therefore loss of food.

The mammoths lived off of grasses and grasslands, so with a climate change it killed these grasses causing the mammoths to become extinct due to lack of food.

MORE MAMMOTH By further searching the mammoth’s corpse we

discovered that it was much more than the mammoth’s wooly coat that allowed it to survive in winter and ice age climates, it was also hemoglobin in the mammoth’s blood! The hemoglobin acted as a “antifreeze” and allowed the cells to exchange more oxygen without more effort.

WHAT WE FOUND By analyzing the mammoth’s body, we

discovered that not only were the mammoths so similar to the elephant that we could breed the two, but that there may be a way to create a mammoth baby inside the elephant’s womb.

We also found a way to extract the RNA from the mammoth’s corpse, and recreate the mammoth’s blood

DNA vs. RNA Like mentioned in the previous Slide, we could recreate the blood From the RNA found on the Mammoth’s corpse. Here is a Chart comparing DNA andRNA.

STRINGING TOGETHER On January 10th, 2010 US scientists announced

that they had discovered 70% of the sequencing for the mammoth’s DNA.

They did this using the keratin in the mammoth’s fur hairs they had purchased on eBay.

ABOUT DNA

WORK SITED http://scienceniche.com/life-science/the-woolly-

mammoth-dna-sequenced-to-three-quarters.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/5559450/Woolly-mammoth-killed-off-by-climate-change.html

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/05/03/antifreeze-blood-gave-woolly-mammoths-a-survival-edge/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1270679/Scientists-step-closer-bring-mammoth-dead.html

WORK SITED http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-127067

9/Scientists-step-closer-bring-mammoth-dead.html#ixzz12iquckP1

http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/543ribose.html