World’s Oldest DNA Recovered, And It Comes From A 1.2 Million-Year-Old Mammoth
The world’s oldest DNA has been recovered and it beats the previous record by a whopping 500,000 years. The DNA is from a 1.2 million-year-old mammoth, and not just any mammoth either, it’s from a previously unknown lineage of mammoth that predates the woolly mammoth. Named Krestovka, it’s thought the iconic Columbian mammoth that roamed North America in the last Ice Age was a hybrid between this and its woolly cousin.
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Successfully Landed On The Surface Of Mars
NASA's historic Perseverance rover, and its sidekick helicopter Ingenuity, successfully landed on the surface of the Red Planet ready to start its mission to search for ancient signs of life on Mars. After an agonizing “7 minutes of terror” with no communication it parachuted onto Mars where its “sky crane” gently dropped it onto the surface. Within minutes it sent back the first photos of its new forever home, ready to kickstart a new generation of Mars exploration.
Meet Elizabeth Ann, The World’s First Cloned Black-Footed Ferret
The world's first black-footed ferret has been cloned and she’s adorable. She’s also the first native US endangered species to be cloned. Once thought extinct, this is an incredible scientific breakthrough and a step forward in ensuring we don’t lose threatened species on the brink. Created from the frozen cells of a ferret that lived 30 years ago, she’s the most genetically diverse member of her species alive so if she mates she could usher in a new era for black-footed ferrets.
New Lifeforms Found Deep Beneath Antarctica Are "Breaking All the Rules"
Deep beneath Antarctica, locked under an ice shelf some 260 kilometers (161 miles) away from the open ocean, strange life forms have been found. While tunneling around 900 meters into the ice shelf, researchers’ drill suddenly hit a boulder. Even more unexpectedly, a camera attached to the drill revealed that a community of creatures was latched onto the rock below. Their very existence – from how they got there to how they survive and feed – is a mystery.
140,000 New Viruses Discovered In The Gut, And Over Half Are New To Science
Scientists have discovered there may be more diverse life in our guts than we thought – a lot more. 140,000 new virus species have been found living in the human gut, over half of which have never been seen before. Do not be alarmed, however. COVID may have given viruses a bad reputation,but these are not the same type. In fact, they’re an integral component of the gut ecosystem, keeping us healthy. Welcome to the fam guys.
