Scientists seeking to decode ancient DNA from woolly mammoths and other Ice Age beasts have found an abundant new source of unsullied genetic material – ordinary hair.
Using samples of fur from mammoths that roamed Siberia 17,000 to 50,000 years ago, researchers say they were able to reconstruct the complete mitochondrial genomes of 10 extinct animals, even though some of the hair had been stored at room temperature for 200 years.
By multiplying the potential sources of ancient DNA, the discovery could accelerate efforts to clone woolly mammoths and other extinct beasts, though scientists said it would take millions of dollars and decades of work to overcome the daunting technical hurdles that remain.
The findings, which were released Thursday in the journal Science, suggest that heaps of ancient DNA are readily available in natural-history museums and other collections, not just in fossil bones buried beneath layers of permafrost, said Tom Gilbert, a biologist at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, who led the study.
“Think about all the extinct furred animals that are displayed in museums around the world,” Gilbert said. “There is a lot of work waiting for us.”
