Palaeontology

Frozen mammoth found with flowing blood

By T.K. Randall
May 31, 2013 ·  32 comments

Image Credit: Mauricio Anton Scientists attempting to bring back mammoths from extinction now have much to celebrate - the remarkably well-preserved remains of an adult mammoth discovered in Siberia have been found to contain actual blood and muscle tissue. Researchers excavating the body came across the blood in ice cavities below the animal where it appears to have been maintained in a liquid state despite the freezing temperatures.

Samples of the blood and tissue have now been collected and sent for analysis in a laboratory. "When we broke the ice beneath her stomach, the blood flowed out from there, it was very dark," said expedition leader Semyon Grigoryev. "This is the most astonishing case in my entire life. How was it possible for it to remain in liquid form? And the muscle tissue is also red, the colour of fresh meat."[!gad]Scientists attempting to bring back mammoths from extinction now have much to celebrate - the remarkably well-preserved remains of an adult mammoth discovered in Siberia have been found to contain actual blood and muscle tissue. Researchers excavating the body came across the blood in ice cavities below the animal where it appears to have been maintained in a liquid state despite the freezing temperatures.

Samples of the blood and tissue have now been collected and sent for analysis in a laboratory. "When we broke the ice beneath her stomach, the blood flowed out from there, it was very dark," said expedition leader Semyon Grigoryev. "This is the most astonishing case in my entire life. How was it possible for it to remain in liquid form? And the muscle tissue is also red, the colour of fresh meat."

Source: Russia Today | Comments (32)

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