Liquid BLOOD sucked from heart of 42,000-year-old horse that scientists hope to clone in bold bid to bring back extinct species
The project could pave the way for the revival of the woolly mammoth
LIQUID blood has been extracted from a prehistoric foal as part of a controversial project to revive a long-lost breed of horse.
Mad Russian scientists are hoping to clone the 42,000-year-old animal, which was found preserved in permafrost in Siberia last summer, and bring it back to life.
Following months of preparations, scientists have now successfully extracted blood from the frozen foal's heart, according to Russian news agency TASS.
From here, they will attempt to use the horse's exceptionally well preserved cells to clone it. They are reportedly trying to find a surrogate to give birth to the foetus.
The foal - no more than two weeks old when it died - is exceptionally rare because it was preserved in near perfect condition for 42,170 years.
Muscle tissue, skin and even tufts of hair remain, giving scientists ample opportunity to lift DNA for cloning.
Semyon Grigoryev, the head of the Mammoth Museum in the regional capital of Yakutsk, said the foal is "the best-preserved Ice Age animal ever found in the world."
He told TASS that finding a preserved horse’s hair was almost unheard of.
"Having preserved hair is another scientific sensation as all previous ancient horses were found without hair," Grigoryev said.
The light ginger-coloured foal foal is believed to have belonged to the long-gone Lenskaya species of horse.
Scientists have reportedly tried 20 times to extract and grow cells from the animal’s tissue, but all attempts have been unsuccessful.
They see the "Jurassic Park" attempt to restore the breed as paving the way for later success in returning the giant woolly mammoth.
The international research team is led by South Korean cloning expert Professor Hwang Woo-suk, who is also closely involved in efforts to use remains of woolly mammoths preserved in permafrost bring the giants back to life.
Dr Lena Grigoryeva, a leading Russian researcher on the project, said: “There are seven researchers involved in the (foal) project on the Korean side and everyone is positive about the outcome.”
She said the first cloning attempt is likely to use a Korean horse as a surrogate mother.
"The Korean horse will fit in perfectly,” she said.
"They have been used in cloning for a while and the technology is mastered to perfection.
"Besides, the Korean horse is quite ancient too. It is a successor of Mongolian horse."
Michil Yakovlev, editor of the university’s corporate media, said: “Hopefully, the world will soon meet the clone of the ancient foal who lived 42,000 years ago.”
Another option is to use the Yakut horse - a breed native to eastern Siberia which succeeded the Lenskaya species.
Yakut horses can survive winters with temperatures as low as minus 60C.
Dr Semyon Grigoryev, leading researcher at the Mammoth Museum in Yakutsk, previously said: "Fortunately, the animal's muscle tissues were undamaged and well preserved, so we managed to get samples of this unique find for biotechnology research."
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Images of the perfectly preserved foal first surfaced earlier this month.
Scientists also hope to one day revive the Woolly Mammoth using tissue frozen for thousands of years.
One group is determined to open a Jurassic Park style theme park full of revived extinct mammals, including the mammoth.
Do you think we should bring back the extinct horse? Let us know in the comments!
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