Researchers recovered largely intact RNA from a Siberian woolly mammoth nicknamed Yuka, dated to about 40,000 years old. Because RNA reflects active gene expression, the team detected tissue‑specific expression patterns that act like a partial freeze‑frame of cellular activity near death. The result expands our understanding of RNA preservation, ancient physiology and the evolution of RNA processes, and it informs debates about de‑extinction and disease research.
40,000‑Year‑Old RNA Recovered from Woolly Mammoth “Yuka” Reveals Tissue‑Specific Gene Activity
Researchers recovered largely intact RNA from a Siberian woolly mammoth nicknamed Yuka, dated to about 40,000 years old. Because RNA reflects active gene expression, the team detected tissue‑specific expression patterns that act like a partial freeze‑frame of cellular activity near death. The result expands our understanding of RNA preservation, ancient physiology and the evolution of RNA processes, and it informs debates about de‑extinction and disease research.
07:28 PM, 11/19/2025Science
The woolly mammoth remains one of the most evocative icons of the Ice Age — and a focus of ongoing scientific curiosity and debate. Researchers working on a remarkably preserved Siberian specimen nicknamed Yuka report the recovery of largely intact RNA molecules that can be dated to roughly 40,000 years before present. Because RNA typically degrades far more rapidly than DNA, this preservation is both unexpected and scientifically valuable.
Unlike DNA, which stores genetic information, RNA largely reflects active cellular processes. The team was able to detect tissue‑specific gene expression patterns in Yuka’s preserved material, effectively producing a partial “freeze‑frame” of biological activity near the time of death. That kind of snapshot goes beyond identifying which genes existed and offers direct insight into which genes were being used and in which tissues.
Previous headlines about ancient mammoth genetics have largely concerned DNA — including reports of million‑year‑old DNA from other specimens recovered in Siberia — but this result is notable specifically because it concerns RNA. The finding challenges assumptions about RNA fragility and opens new avenues for studying the molecular biology of extinct organisms.
There are several important implications. First, reconstructing tissue‑specific expression from an ancient specimen gives researchers a rare look at extinct physiology and development. Second, studying how RNA molecules survived and what forms they took helps scientists learn about the evolution of RNA processing, stability and decay — processes that are central to many inherited disorders and to the biology of RNA‑based pathogens.
The discovery also feeds into public discussions about de‑extinction and related projects that aim to engineer mammoth‑like traits into modern elephants. While such efforts remain technically and ethically complex, improved knowledge of mammoth gene expression provides a richer biological context for which traits might be viable targets and what their functional consequences could be.
Researchers caution that reconstructing ancient RNA is technically challenging: contamination controls, authentication of ancient molecules and careful interpretation are essential. Nonetheless, recovering a biologically informative RNA signal from a specimen tens of thousands of years old is a striking achievement that promises new perspectives on ancient life and the molecular processes that shape it.