Sometime around 40,000 years ago, a baby woolly mammoth was frozen into permafrost, likely after being chased down and attacked by predators. While this was certainly unlucky for the young mammoth, it turns out that it was very lucky for modern researchers.

The mammoth, which has since been named Yuka, was found in the coastal region of Oyogos Yar in amazingly good condition for its age. It still had its hair intact and the muscle fibers were in very good condition. So good, in fact, that the researchers could extract RNA molecules from them.

This marks the oldest ever recovered RNA molecules.

Love Dalen is a professor of evolutionary genomics at Stockholm University and the Centre for Palaeogenetics. She recently spoke with IFLScience about it, saying:

“RNA can tell us which genes were ‘turned on’ in a given tissue around the time of death. The RNA activity is what makes different types of cells different. All cells have the same DNA, so what makes them different is which genes are activated. Therefore, recovering RNA tells us which genes were active in specific tissues, giving insight into the biology of extinct animals.”

The team was able to study the well-preserved RNA, and they published their findings in the journal Cell. When talking about the experience, Dalen said:

“Yuka is one of the best-preserved mammoths ever found, and to be able to work with such material felt like a rare privilege. Normally, when we deal with Ice Age remains, the tissues are highly degraded, so just seeing recognizable muscle fibers and intact hair is impressive in itself. To recover RNA, which is one of the most fragile biological molecules, from such an old specimen was amazing and beyond what I thought possible just a few years ago.”

Researchers say that the RNA will give them a look into what the gene expression of the animal was just hours, and possibly minutes, before its death. They were able to determine that the muscle tissues were going through metabolic stress at this time, which is where the theory that it was being chased by predators comes from. Dalen explained:

“This might be a reflection of Yuka escaping from predators, probably cave lions, given the signs present in its body, although it is actually not possible to accurately discern.”

The mammoth will be kept protected for further analysis as well.

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