Scientists just made a big breakthrough with woolly mammoth DNA
For the first time, researchers have reconstructed fossilized chromosomes


A prehistoric creature has just provided a stunning breakthrough, as a new research paper reveals that scientists mapped the three-dimensional architecture of a woolly mammoth's genome using fossilized remains. This marks the first time science has been able to fully replicate the DNA of an ancient animal from a fossil.
The paper, published July 11 in the journal Cell, is the culmination of a six-year study by an international community of scientists. The completion of the genome mapping represents a "new kind of fossil, a fossil chromosome," said Erez Lieberman Aiden, a professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine and one of the co-authors of the study, per The New York Times. This fossil could help provide more scientific enlightenments in the future.
What did the scientists do?
The fossilized remains in question were from a 52,000-year-old woolly mammoth that was found in remote Siberia. The mammoth was "impeccably freeze-dried by nature, its swatches of fur remaining intact," said The Washington Post, likely because of the region's harsh winters. As a result, the mammoth "probably entered a dehydrated state shortly after death, protecting it from being colonized by fungi and bacteria."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Using one of these swatches of fur, scientists "studied a small skin sample from the back of the mammoth's ear," said the Post. During an examination of the hair follicles, it was discovered that the "chromosomes in each cell were still organized into clear territories, giving experts insight into which genes were switched on and off while the mammoth was alive."
With this insight, combined with the quality of the sample, scientists were able to "extract DNA and use a technique known as Hi-C to reconstruct the three-dimensional structure of all 28 of the mammoth's chromosomes — the extinct creature's entire genome," said NPR. This was not an easy task; the mammoth's genome has more than 4 billion base pairs of DNA. The human genome, in comparison, has only 3 billion.
Scientists were "able to assemble the genome of a woolly mammoth just as 25 years ago humans were excited for the first time to assemble our own genomes," said Aiden. Now this can be done "for animals that were long extinct. That's obviously a milestone."
How could this breakthrough be useful in the future?
The discovery "opens up major new possibilities of exploring the biology of extinct species," Adrian Lister, a paleontologist at London's Natural History Museum, said to Scientific American. It is an "astonishing study."
One of the most notable potentials for the study is that it could open the floodgates for similar genetic information to be collected from fossilized remains. The "widespread use of the technique could generate more precise ancient genomes and allow analysis of new species," Juan Rodríguez, a geneticist at the University of Copenhagen and co-author of the study, said to Scientific American. Putting together ancient DNA often requires a lot of guesswork, but the "new 3D structural analysis bypasses these obstacles," meaning that "future work could flesh out evolutionary trees" or "examine how organisms adapted to their changing environments, producing insights for modern conservation efforts."
These conservation efforts could involve assessing "how poorly or how well species are doing in terms of genetic diversity and their overall genetic health," Patrícia Chrzanová Pečnerová, an assistant professor of evolutionary genetics at the University of Copenhagen, said to the Post. The woolly mammoth breakthrough is a good example of this, because "if we want to be able to understand what is natural, we have to go back in the past."
Researchers "strongly believe that this is not going to apply to just the mammoth or this particular mammoth," Olga Dudchenko, an assistant professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine and another co-author of the study, said to CNN. Instead, this discovery is "basically opening up a new field that has tremendous potential."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
-
Music reviews: Bon Iver, Valerie June, and The Waterboys
Feature "Sable, Fable," "Owls, Omens, and Oracles," "Life, Death, and Dennis Hopper"
By The Week US
-
Are bonds worth investing in?
the explainer They can diversify your portfolio and tend to be a safer investment than stocks
By Becca Stanek, The Week US
-
Elon has his 'Legion.' How will Republicans encourage other Americans to have babies?
Today's Big Question The pronatalist movement finds itself in power
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
How to see the Lyrid meteor shower
The explainer A nice time to look to the skies
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
The lesser-known Elsinore fault is a risk to California
The Explainer A powerful earthquake could be on the horizon
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
Scientists find hint of alien life on distant world
Speed Read NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected a possible signature of life on planet K2-18b
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Full moon calendar: dates and times for every full moon this year
In depth When to see the lunar phenomenon every month
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
North America is 'dripping' into Earth's mantle
Under the radar Things are rocky below the surface
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
The dubious nature of de-extinction
The Explainer Is it a vanity project backed by billions, or the future of animal conservation?
By Theara Coleman, The Week US
-
Scientists map miles of wiring in mouse brain
Speed Read Researchers have created the 'largest and most detailed wiring diagram of a mammalian brain to date,' said Nature
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
The return of the dire wolf after 10,000 years of extinction
The Explainer The US bioscience firm claimed it had genetically engineered new dire wolves after 10,000 years of extinction
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK