Scientists Pulled 700,000-Year-Old DNA From Frozen Squirrel Poop
4 Articles
4 Articles
Scientists in Canada have made a spectacular discovery: a treasure of ancient DNA, including that of woolly mammoths and cheetahs, perfectly preserved in excrement of Arctic squirrels frozen for 700,000 years. This unexpected find offers a unique window on the ecosystems of the Ice Age.
Ancient squirrel poop from Arctic permafrost contains DNA from mammoths, bison, horses and big cats
The prehistoric relatives of Arctic ground squirrels (Urocitellus parryii) left behind droppings in the Yukon that have been preserved in permafrost for millennia.Prehistoric squirrel droppings were analyzed and found to contain genetic material of numerous ice-age beasts, plants, microbes and fungi.Frozen droppings of prehistoric ground squirrels are chock-full of DNA from ice-age beasts, including woolly mammoths, a mysterious big cat and a hu…
In the Yukon, squirrel burrows sealed by permafrost for millennia have just delivered an extraordinary genetic archive. DNA of woolly mammoths, wolves, horses and cheetahs — up to 700,000 years old — stored in frozen squirrel excrement. A time capsule that no one had ever thought of opening. [...]
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