Finding out something new
If you have every wanted to know more the Woolly Mammoth but could never find any new developments in their study, here’s your chance. A research study was published just yesterday featuring our woolly friend, with new findings about its DNA structure and how it was adapted to its arctic conditions in the Ice Age. The study was published with cell.com in more scientific detail, and elaborates on the differences between the elephants that live today and the ones of yesterday.
It comes as no surprise that there was some huge reconfigurations of the DNA of the Woolly Mammoth that allowed it to live in such harsh frigid conditions. However, the study went in-depth to discover the differences and found the unique changes to be fascinating.
Genetic changes to the Woolly Mammoth
In short, the changes in the DNA that differed from the elephant creatures of today allowed for physical changes to occur in order for it to survive the cold. Basically, the gene TRPV3 helped to create the Wooly as we know it today and is extremely sensitive to change.
One researcher, Vince Lynch PhD, assistant professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago, said in a news release, “This is by far the most comprehensive study to look at the genetic changes that make a Woolly Mammoth a woolly Mammoth. They are an excellent model to understand how morphological evolution works, because mammoths are so closely related to living elephants, which have none of the traits they had.”
Lynch’s research focus at the university focuses itself on that premise of morphology in terms of evolution on the genetics level and how at the molecular level, genetics can be very influential towards that morphology, as well as other interesting focuses.
Before this study, all efforts to sequence mammoth DNA were failures
However, this team of researchers found a backdoor so to speak, in that in that they sequenced not only mammoth genes but also the genes of the Asian elephant. After that, the comparisons began. Most changes in the genes dealt with fat metabolism and other such things to help brave the cold.
These genes could ostensibly be used to bring back the wooly mammoth. But that is likely a terrible idea, and sure to spark parallels to Jurassic Park. Suffice to say, the animal wouldn’t survive in conditions present today as it did then, due to the huge change in environment.
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