What Genes Make a Woolly Mammoth a Woolly Mammoth? (VIDEO)
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In the first study of its kind, a team of researchers led by Vincent Lynch, Ph.D., assistant professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago, comprehensively analyzed the mammoth genome. They found extensive genetic changes linked to numerous traits, including skin and hair development, insulin signaling, fat biology and even physical ones such as small ears and short tails – all of which allowed mammoths to adapt arctic life. The team also resurrected a mammoth heat-sensing protein to test its function. It's a study that effectively serves a blueprint for 'de-extincting' the woolly mammoth. But whether this should be done is another question altogether.
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University of Chicago/Kevin Jiang
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