ANIMALS
Genes have been extracted from an extinct Tasmanian tiger
WORDS STEPHANIE PAPPAS
A Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) in captivity, circa 1930
© Alamy / Hebrew University of Jerusalem / NASA, Korea Aerospace Research Institute, Arizona State University
Scientists have extracted RNA from a Tasmanian tiger, marking the first time this molecule has ever been sequenced in an extinct animal. Like DNA, RNA (ribonucleic acid) carries genetic information. But instead of having a double strand of nucleotides as DNA does, RNA is made of a single strand. That makes it more likely to degrade over time and harder to extract from long-dead tissue. But understanding RNA is necessary for learning about the biology of an animal. RNA is the intermediary that translates DNA blueprints into the proteins that build cells; it also regulates cellular metabolism.