Siberia
(Doug O'Harra/Far North Science, 26 July 2007) -- Global warming may expose even more secrets of the ice age. The well-preserved remains of a four-month-old baby woolly mammoth recovered from melting permafrost in Siberia last spring will now undergo sophisticated testing and analysis at University of Michigan for testing. Scientists hope to pinpoint exactly how long ago the creature died, among other things. “It’s the best and most complete mammoth carcass—baby or adult—ever found,” said Daniel Fisher, curator of paleontology at the U-M Museum of Paleontology and part of a six-member international team that examined the frozen, nearly intact remains of a 4-month-old female woolly mammoth. ... This four-month-old specimen was discovered by reindeer breeder Yuri Khudi when it emerged from an eroding riverbank in Russia’s Yamalo-Nenetsk region, its belly full and tissues preserved. The critter got the nickname “Lyuba” after Khudi’s wife. The discovery of the mammoth in such good condition — with the possibility of relatively intact DNA—triggered widespread speculation on the chances of cloning the species.
Posted 26 July 2007; 12:21:46 PM. Permalink
Tagged: Circumpolar News, Research / Reports, Siberia / Russia
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