𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐍𝐀 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝.

Swedish researchers have used a modified process to extract millions of RNA strands from the skin and muscle of a 132-year-old Tasmanian tiger, also known as a thylacine. In the 1930s, the Australian island of Tasmania lost its tiger population, a species known scientifically as Thylacinus cynocephalus. Thylacine’s RNA has the potential to unlock a wealth of previously unavailable data on gene function. Researchers discovered RNA in the skin that codes for the structural protein keratin and in other tissues for more general proteins like titin and actin. Similarities between the transcriptional profiles and those of living species shed light on distinctive anatomical characteristics. This research may be useful in the ongoing endeavor to revive the thylacine, a controversial undertaking that calls into question many aspects of modern science and technology. The sequencing of RNA from extinct organisms may potentially give scientists a chance to track the evolution of RNA viruses by detecting their existence at different points in time.

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