Article: A step back from extinction: Tasmanian tiger DNA turns on gene in mouse.(Life)

Tasmanian tigers are back. Sort of. A small bit of the extinct marsupial's DNA is alive and well in the cells of some genetically engineered mice.

Researchers have produced proteins from mammoth and Neandertal genes in cells. But the new study, published May 19 in PLoS ONE, is the first to show activity of an extinct piece of DNA in an animal.

Scientists from the University of Melbourne in Australia and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston extracted DNA from alcohol-preserved specimens of the Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, extinct since 1936. The researchers then inserted into mice a piece of thylacine DNA that controls ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!