Scientists map DNA of prehistoric animal by Marielle

By Azadeh Ansari
CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/11/19/mammoth.dna/index.html?iref=newssearch)

November 19, 2008


I cannot believe it. Scientists at Penn State University found some DNA of a woolly mammoth. I think that is so cool. They figured out that the woolly mammoth’s DNA is almost just like the modern African elephant. They do look like elephants.

They found the DNA in some hair - woolly mammoth hair to be exact. The hair looks like a big fuzz ball. In the hair, the DNA was all separated, and they had to put it back together. "It's like a mirror that you smash on the floor. Then, like a jigsaw puzzle, you try to piece the DNA back together," said Stephan Schuster, a Penn State University biochemistry professor and co-author of the research.

They might be able to make a real-life one. "It could be done," said Stephan Schuster. "The question is, just because we might be able to do it one day, should we do it?" I think we should, because if we do, who says that it will run around wild and be too much for the elephants to handle. The mommy elephant will probably just treat it like a regular elephant baby. It will probably act just like the other elephants, and it would be awesome to see a real live woolly mammoth.