Global warming is revealing secrets that have been hidden in
the permafrost for many thousands of years. In August 2018, researchers found the
frozen carcass of a foal of a now extinct species of horse in the Yakutsk
region of north eastern Russia.
The foal is thought to have lived over 40,000 years ago in
the Upper Paleolithic (Late Stone Age), and was found in the Batagaika crater
in Yakutia, the coldest region in Russia.
The North-Eastern Federal University (NEFA) in Yakutsk recently
hosted a paleontological seminar, attended by NEFA Scientists as well as
specialists from the Yakutsk Research Institute of Agriculture, and the Korean
Sooam Biotech Research Foundation to discuss the study of the ancient foal.
Computed tomography of the foal carcass was used to examine
the internal structure and create a 3D model of the body. Sergey Vasilev, head
of the Center for 3-D Modelling and Virtual Reality of NEFU Institute of
Physics and Technologies, noted that this allows them to create a complete
picture of what the foal looked like.
Semyon Grigoriev, head of P.A. Lazarev Mammoth Museum of
NEFU Institute of Applied Ecology of the North, added “In case of finding the
remains of unique discoveries, we always try to organize their computed
tomography, because with its help we can fix the current preservation after the
moment of discovery without disturbing the integrity of tissues or organs”.
According to Lena Grigorieva, lead researcher at the
International Center for Collective Use of Molecular Paleontology, the foal is
unique in its state of preservation. Materials collected have been submitted
for microbiological, histological and cellular studies.
“The study of materials will give a general idea of the
microflora of the ancient horse”, said Yan Ahremenko, an associate professor of
the Department of Histology and Microbiology at NEFU Medical Institute.
“Perhaps we will find lactic acid microorganisms and ancient bifidobacteria as
in the case of the mammoth.”
The Siberian Times
quotes Dr Semyon Grigoryev: “The autopsy shows beautifully preserved internal
organs. Samples of liquid blood were taken from heart vessels… The muscle
tissues preserved their natural reddish colour,”
The scientists hope to be able to find viable genetic
material that could be used to attempt to clone the foal.
South Korean cloning expert Professor Hwang Woo Suk said, “If
we manage to find a cell, then we will do our best to clone the unique animal.’
For more details, see:
NEFU website:
No comments:
Post a Comment