Yakut scientists discovered the remains of a mammoth on the territory of the republic. According to preliminary data, the find has a high degree of preservation. While experts are laconic, it is already known that the remains can be used as biomaterial for cloning these ancient mammals.
New prospects are opening up for the international mammoth cloning project, which is being implemented by Yakut and South Korean scientists. The project started in March 2012 and the primary task was to find a suitable biomaterial - cells with good nuclear preservation.
Despite the fact that the remains of mammoths were found in Yakutia several times, including the preserved soft tissues, they were not completely satisfied with the Korean colleagues from the Sooam BRF Biotechnology Foundation.
- There is a continuous progress of genetic technologies, new remains of mammoths are constantly found in Yakutia, and the time will come when everything will work out. First, we will jointly search for biological material for cloning in the north of Yakutia, since our Korean colleagues consider the material we have to be not very suitable. In order to take samples of mammoth tissue directly from the permafrost, the Koreans will bring a mobile laboratory with them to Yakutia, perhaps this summer, and then the material will be brought to Seoul, where we will work together.
Semyon Grigoriev, Senior Researcher, Mammoth Museum Laboratory, Research Institute of Applied Ecology of the North.
It seems that these words, said a little over a year ago, turned out to be prophetic: in the summer of 2012, an international expedition collected about 30 kg of samples, and recently it was officially announced that the remains of another whole mammoth were found in Yakutia, which, according to preliminary presumably have a high degree of preservation.
“Found it last year, but kept the news secret. And today the expedition is going - they will retrieve it. It seems that this is the tenth mammoth of all found, - wrote in a blog journalist, political scientist Vitaly Tretyakov.
So far, Yakut experts are wary of making any assessments of the find made and even refuse to name exactly the place where the mammoth was found. According to some sources, this is the area of the village of Kazachye in the Ust-Yansky district, according to others - the Novosibirsk Islands in the Bulunsky ulus. Scientists do not refute or confirm any of these versions.
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One thing is certain - the find was made on the territory of Yakutia. On April 29, an expedition will go to the place of discovery, which will include three employees of the Mammoth Museum of the Scientific Research Institute for Ecology of the North of the North-Eastern Federal University, who will conduct the necessary expertise and make a conclusion about the scientific value of the find.
- Our laboratory has been researching the remains of mammoth fauna found on the territory of the republic for about 20 years. We work closely with the population of those regions of Yakutia, on the territory of which such finds are possible, therefore, reports about the found remains of a mammoth come to us quite often. However, not all remains are of scientific value; only specialists can give an accurate assessment. We cannot go to inspect each find, since this is a rather expensive undertaking, so first we ask you to provide a photo or video confirming the find, after reviewing which we decide on the expediency of the expedition.
So it was this time - a video of the find was sent to the Mammoth Museum by local residents, after looking at which the scientists came to the conclusion that the find was of interest and could provide the material necessary for research. If the found remains are really well preserved, they can be used as biomaterial for cloning mammoths.
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In order to start the cloning procedure, scientists need to have at their disposal the soft tissues of the animal that have not been frozen again - only in this case the probability of detecting intact sells remains. Therefore, the excavations will be carried out using a special technology developed by the Yakut paleontologist Petr Lazarev. The work will take place in two stages: the first one must be carried out during the cold season (April-May), the second - when the soil thawing begins (July-August). At the first stage, a preliminary assessment of the found animal is given, at the second, comprehensive studies are carried out and, possibly, the extraction of remains. It is very important in this case that the remains are not damaged, therefore they are removed as a monolith together with the surrounding frozen soil and immediately placed in a freezing container,to prevent cell melting and damage.
- We have already received all the necessary permits to conduct a scientific experiment at the place of discovery. We will make final conclusions after returning, it will be in about 20 days. But we hope for very good results.
