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Ancient Mammoth Carcass Arrives in Japan
1 day ago
//
TOKYO —
The frozen carcass of a 37,000-year-old baby mammoth unearthed this
summer in Siberia arrived in Japan on Saturday for tests that
researchers hope will shed new light on the internal structure of the
ancient beasts, an official said.
The 4-foot gray-and-brown
carcass arrived at Tokyo International Airport on Saturday afternoon,
said Mitsuyoshi Uno, an official with the joint Russo-Japanese
mammoth-study project that is overseeing the research.
Discovered
in May by a reindeer herder in northern Siberia's remote Yamal-Nenets
region, the frozen mammoth's trunk and eyes are virtually intact and it
even has some fur, but its tail and ear were apparently bitten off,
Russian officials said.
The mammoth, which was initially thought
to be about 10,000-years-old, is bound for Tokyo's Jikei Medical
University, where it will undergo a computed tomography scan, Uno said.
CT scans allow scientists to get 3-D pictures so detailed they allow an
almost surgical view into the body.
Researchers hope the scan will provide more information about the animal's organs and internal structure.
The mammoth carcass and scan images are slated to go on public display Jan. 4 at an office building in central Tokyo, Uno said.
Scientists
believe mammoths lived from 4.8 million years ago to about 4,000 years
ago. Studies suggest climate change or overkill by human hunters as
possible causes for their extinction.
1 day ago
//
TOKYO —
The frozen carcass of a 37,000-year-old baby mammoth unearthed this
summer in Siberia arrived in Japan on Saturday for tests that
researchers hope will shed new light on the internal structure of the
ancient beasts, an official said.
The 4-foot gray-and-brown
carcass arrived at Tokyo International Airport on Saturday afternoon,
said Mitsuyoshi Uno, an official with the joint Russo-Japanese
mammoth-study project that is overseeing the research.
Discovered
in May by a reindeer herder in northern Siberia's remote Yamal-Nenets
region, the frozen mammoth's trunk and eyes are virtually intact and it
even has some fur, but its tail and ear were apparently bitten off,
Russian officials said.
The mammoth, which was initially thought
to be about 10,000-years-old, is bound for Tokyo's Jikei Medical
University, where it will undergo a computed tomography scan, Uno said.
CT scans allow scientists to get 3-D pictures so detailed they allow an
almost surgical view into the body.
Researchers hope the scan will provide more information about the animal's organs and internal structure.
The mammoth carcass and scan images are slated to go on public display Jan. 4 at an office building in central Tokyo, Uno said.
Scientists
believe mammoths lived from 4.8 million years ago to about 4,000 years
ago. Studies suggest climate change or overkill by human hunters as
possible causes for their extinction.
