Re: Woolly Mammoth/Aichi Expo 2005

[MKIRKALDY@aol.com]

In a message dated 6/18/2005 3:53:42 PM Eastern Standard Time,  
bigelowp@juno.com writes:
< Isn't this old news?  I remember a  comparative genetic study from about
5-10 years ago arriving at the same  conclusion.>
 
Or a couple of conclusions:
http://www.save-the-elephants.org/2001%20web%20stories/Elephant%20Graveyard.ht
m
"Recent  DNA studies suggest that African elephants are closer to the extinct 
mammoth  than are Asian elephants whom initial studies claimed were closer. 
While the  initial studies cannot be overlooked, interesting discoveries have 
surfaced  suggesting that there may be a convergence in the skeletal data."
 
and
 
Greenwood,A.D., Capelli,C., Possnert,G., and Paabo,S. 1999. Nuclear DNA  
sequences from late Pleistocene megafauna. Mol Biol Evol 16:(11):1466-1473  
"Abstract: We report the retrieval and characterization of multi- and  
single-copy nuclear DNA sequences from Alaskan and Siberian mammoths (Mammuthus 
 
primigenius). In addition, a nuclear copy of a mitochondrial gene was 
recovered.  
Furthermore, a 13,000-year-old ground sloth and a 33,000-year-old cave bear  
yielded multicopy nuclear DNA sequences. Thus, multicopy and single-copy genes 
 can be analyzed from Pleistocene faunal remains. The results also show that  
under some circumstances, nucleotide sequence differences between alleles 
found  within one individual can be distinguished from DNA sequence variation 
caused by  postmortem DNA damage. The nuclear sequences retrieved from the 
mammoths suggest  that mammoths were more similar to Asian elephants than to 
African 
 elephants."
 
Mary
______

On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 14:41:37 -0400 (EDT)  MKIRKALDY@aol.com writes:
> Woolly Mammoth Closer to Asian  Elephants
>
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/17/AR2005061
70155
>  8.html
> The  Associated Press
> Friday, June 17, 2005; 9:56 PM  
> TOKYO -- Japanese  scientists said Friday that DNA tests have  shown 
> that the 
> prehistoric woolly  mammoth is more  closely related to Asian 
> elephants than to 
> their African   counterparts, settling a long-running debate over the 
> lineage 
>  of the giant  animals that went extinct 10,000 years ago.
>  <snip>
> The almost perfectly preserved head of a 10,000-year-old  Siberian 
> woolly  
> mammoth _ excavated from the Siberian  tundra last June _ is 
> currently on display  
> at the Aichi  Expo 2005 in central Japan.
> ____
>  
> Also see the  website at: (http://www.yukagirmammoth.net/) 
>  http://www-1.expo2005.or.jp/en/mammoth/index.html
> and pictures of  the  skull at:
>  http://www.yukagirmammoth.net/