World’s oldest DNA sequenced from million-year-old mammoths
Al Jazeera
Scientists sequenced DNA from the teeth of mammoths discovered in Siberia in the 1970s.
Teeth from mammoths buried in the Siberian permafrost for more than a million years have yielded the oldest DNA ever sequenced, according to a study published on Wednesday, shining a genetic spotlight into the deep past. Researchers said the three specimens, one roughly 800,000 years old and two more than a million years old, provide important insights into the giant Ice Age mammals, including the ancient heritage of the woolly mammoth. The genomes far exceed the oldest previously sequenced DNA – a horse dating to between 780,000 and 560,000 years ago.More Related News