Genomic Research

DNA Extracted From Woolly Mammoth Hair

Science Daily —

Stephan C. Schuster and Webb Miller of Penn State, working with Thomas
Gilbert from Copenhagen and a large international consortium,
discovered that hair shafts provide an ideal source of ancient DNA -- a
better source than bones and muscle for studying the genome sequences
of extinct animals. Their research achievement, described in a paper to
be published in the journal Science on Sept. 28, includes the
sequencing of entire mitochondrial genomes from 10 individual woolly
mammoths.

Drawing of a woolly mammoth. (Credit: Penn State University)