Introduction

In a groundbreaking study, Russian scientists have meticulously examined a 130,000-year-old baby mammoth, affectionately named "Yana," which was preserved in the permafrost of Siberia. First revealed to the public in December 2024, Yana has been hailed as the best-preserved mammoth specimen ever discovered, boasting an astonishingly intact front half that resembles a baby elephant.

Detailed Examination

During a detailed necropsy—essentially an autopsy for animals—conducted in late March at the Mammoth Museum at North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, researchers spent hours uncovering Yana's ancient secrets. Artemiy Goncharov, the head of the laboratory for functional genomics and proteomics of microorganisms at the Institute of Experimental Medicine, remarked, “This necropsy is an opportunity to look into the past of our planet.”

Preservation