If this story's true, it must be one of the most stunning finds of the last few centuries!
Russian scientists claim the frozen body of a 10,000-15,000 yr.old mammoth yielded blood so well preserved that it flowed freely!
Scientists announced the amazing news this week, following the study of the carcass of a female mammoth in good condition found on a remote island in the Arctic Ocean.
Semyon Grigoriev, head of the expedition and chairman of the Mammoth Museum: "The blood is very dark...found in ice cavities below the belly. When we broke these cavities with a pick, the blood came running out."
The temperature was -7 to –10C, so there's speculation that mammoth blood may have had some cryoprotective properties. The muscle tissue of the frozen carcass was also supposedly "stunning" - the colour of fresh meat, totally unlike meat that's centuries old.
Woolly mammoths died out around 10,000 years ago, although scientists think small groups of them lived longer in Alaska and on islands off the Siberian coast. Having deciphered much of the woolly mammoth genetic code, some believe it's possible to recreate them if they find living cells in the permafrost.
Is this story really true? COULD that blood have flowed freely after such time? And remembering how bad a piece of steak looks after being in the freezer for a year, COULD ancient mammoth flesh really have looked "a natural red colour"? REALLY???
Methinx this may be another "aren't we wonderful, leading the world" chest-beating exercise from Russia...
Russian scientists claim the frozen body of a 10,000-15,000 yr.old mammoth yielded blood so well preserved that it flowed freely!
Semyon Grigoriev, head of the expedition and chairman of the Mammoth Museum: "The blood is very dark...found in ice cavities below the belly. When we broke these cavities with a pick, the blood came running out."
The temperature was -7 to –10C, so there's speculation that mammoth blood may have had some cryoprotective properties. The muscle tissue of the frozen carcass was also supposedly "stunning" - the colour of fresh meat, totally unlike meat that's centuries old.
Woolly mammoths died out around 10,000 years ago, although scientists think small groups of them lived longer in Alaska and on islands off the Siberian coast. Having deciphered much of the woolly mammoth genetic code, some believe it's possible to recreate them if they find living cells in the permafrost.
Is this story really true? COULD that blood have flowed freely after such time? And remembering how bad a piece of steak looks after being in the freezer for a year, COULD ancient mammoth flesh really have looked "a natural red colour"? REALLY???
Methinx this may be another "aren't we wonderful, leading the world" chest-beating exercise from Russia...
No comments:
Post a Comment