World's oldest DNA is discovered in Greenland dating back two MILLION years - Daily Mail

It's a find that sounds close retired of a Jurassic Park film.

Scientists person recovered two-million-year-old DNA for the archetypal time, breaking the erstwhile grounds by 1 cardinal years.

The microscopic fragments, each a fewer millionths of a millimetre long, were recovered successful crystal property sediment successful bluish Greenland.

The DNA has allowed experts to representation a prehistoric ecosystem consisting of animals specified arsenic reindeer, hares, lemmings and adjacent Mastodon, often described arsenic a furry crystal property elephant.

It was antecedently thought the scope of Mastodon did not widen acold from its known North America origins, but this caller find proves it roamed arsenic acold arsenic Greenland earlier becoming extinct.

Evidence of plants specified arsenic birch and poplar trees were besides found, arsenic good arsenic a scope of microorganisms.

Professor Eske Willerslev, a chap of Cambridge University's St John's College, said: 'A caller section spanning 1 cardinal other years of past has yet been opened and for the archetypal clip we tin look straight astatine the DNA of a past ecosystem that acold backmost successful time.

'DNA tin degrade rapidly but we've shown that nether the close circumstances, we tin present spell backmost further successful clip than anyone could person dared imagine.'

The 41 usable DNA samples were recovered hidden successful clay and quartz successful the Kobenhavn Formation, a sediment deposit astir 100 metres thick, tucked successful the rima of a fjord successful the Arctic Ocean.

Professor Kurt Kjaer, of Copenhagen University's Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre, said: 'The past DNA samples were recovered buried heavy successful sediment that had built-up implicit 20,000 years.

'The sediment was yet preserved successful crystal oregon permafrost and, crucially, not disturbed by humans for 2 cardinal years.'

Detective enactment by a squad of 40 researchers from Denmark, the UK, France, Sweden, Norway, the USA and Germany unlocked the secrets of the DNA fragments.

Although determination were rather a fewer pieces of Mastodon DNA found, the researchers said they were excessively fragmented and didn't screen the afloat genome – meaning reviving the taxon done cloning would inactive not beryllium possible.

However, the squad said their find could supply clues connected however champion to counteract the 'devastating interaction of planetary warming'.

'Expeditions are costly and galore of the samples were taken backmost successful 2006 erstwhile the squad were successful Greenland for different project,' Professor Kjaer said. 'They person been stored ever since.

'It wasn't until a caller procreation of DNA extraction and sequencing instrumentality was developed that we've been capable to find and place highly tiny and damaged fragments of DNA successful the sediment samples.

'It is imaginable that familial engineering could mimic the strategy developed by plants and trees 2 cardinal years agone to past successful a clime characterised by rising temperatures and forestall the extinction of immoderate species, plants and trees.

'This is 1 of the reasons this technological beforehand is truthful important due to the fact that it could uncover however to effort to counteract the devastating interaction of planetary warming.'

Professor Willerslev said it 'may beryllium imaginable that clay whitethorn person preserved past DNA successful warm, humid environments successful sites recovered successful Africa'.

'If we tin statesman to research past DNA successful clay grains from Africa, we whitethorn beryllium capable to stitchery ground-breaking accusation astir the root of galore antithetic taxon – possibly adjacent caller cognition astir the archetypal humans and their ancestors – the possibilities are endless,' helium said.

In the Jurassic Park film, scientists recovered fragmented dinosaur DNA preserved successful amber and successfully filled successful the familial holes with frog DNA.

Unfortunately for fans, portion the conception of cloning an carnal from DNA is feasible, experts accidental dinosaur genes preserved successful amber would not really past to the contiguous day.

The probe is published successful the diary Nature.