Scientists discover that inbreeding probably felled the last woolly mammoths

The wooly mammoth's extinction was most likely caused by inbreeding
(Image credit: iStock)

In a study published in the journal Current Biology on Thursday, an international team of researchers announced they had sequenced the woolly mammoth's complete genome, using stem cells from an African elephant as a test. That is amazing in and of itself, but the results also reveal interesting new insights into the wooly mammoth's extinction.

As part of their research, the scientists compared DNA from two different woolly mammoths. One lived in Siberia about 44,800 years ago, and the other lived on Wrangel Island, where the last surviving mammoths died, about 4,300 years ago.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up
Explore More
Meghan DeMaria

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.