What’s to eat at… Pleistocene Park?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
RNA is DNA’s mailman. It delivers genetic info around the cell. BUT… it’s very fragile! This makes reading ancient RNA very difficult. Until now!
Enter Emilio Mármol-Sánchez and team at Sweden’s Centre for Palaeogenetics. They found the world’s oldest RNA sample: wooly mammoth protein, frozen in ancient soil.
They compared the RNA to DNA maps from Asian elephants, their closest living relatives.
And? RNA isolated from one mammoth contained genetic information for muscle function! The RNA instructions for muscle proteins survived nearly FORTY THOUSAND years frozen in ice!
Talk about freezer burn. For a limited time, mammoth nuggets are back on the menu!
Reference: Mármol-Sánchez, E., Fromm, B., Oskolkov, N., et al. (2026). Ancient RNA expression profiles from the extinct woolly mammoth. Cell, 189(1), 52–69.e22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.10.025