Oldest known RNA found in 40,000-year-old woolly mammoth leg

Cave lions likely killed'Yuka' when she was around 8 years old. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. A 40,000-year-old juvenile woolly mammoth named Yuka is not only remarkable because she was uncovered nearly intact or her grisly cause of death. Her muscles provided paleogeneticists with the oldest known RNA sequences ever recovered. Detailed in a study published on November 14 in the journal, the samples contradict previous assumptions about the genetic material's resilience while furthering our understanding of the famous, extinct megafauna.