Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

And I think probably like arctic animals today that we can study in real time, like reindeer, for example, they actually keep their feet very cold, relatively cold, and they have antifreeze substances, you know, in their blood that stop them from freezing up.

And I think probably like arctic animals today that we can study in real time, like reindeer, for example, they actually keep their feet very cold, relatively cold, and they have antifreeze substances, you know, in their blood that stop them from freezing up.

And I think probably like arctic animals today that we can study in real time, like reindeer, for example, they actually keep their feet very cold, relatively cold, and they have antifreeze substances, you know, in their blood that stop them from freezing up.

But actually, this does lead me to a really fantastic bit of research that's been done on woolly mammoths right down to the molecular level, because... A study was made a few years ago by Canadian scientists of mammoth hemoglobin. Now, hemoglobin, of course, is the molecule in our blood that transports oxygen from the lungs to all the tissues of our body.

But actually, this does lead me to a really fantastic bit of research that's been done on woolly mammoths right down to the molecular level, because... A study was made a few years ago by Canadian scientists of mammoth hemoglobin. Now, hemoglobin, of course, is the molecule in our blood that transports oxygen from the lungs to all the tissues of our body.

But actually, this does lead me to a really fantastic bit of research that's been done on woolly mammoths right down to the molecular level, because... A study was made a few years ago by Canadian scientists of mammoth hemoglobin. Now, hemoglobin, of course, is the molecule in our blood that transports oxygen from the lungs to all the tissues of our body.

And what they did was, you know, we're now managing to extract DNA from mammoth tissues, and we're learning a lot more about their anatomy and their physiology from the DNA. So these people actually found the gene from the mammoth DNA that codes for hemoglobin.

And what they did was, you know, we're now managing to extract DNA from mammoth tissues, and we're learning a lot more about their anatomy and their physiology from the DNA. So these people actually found the gene from the mammoth DNA that codes for hemoglobin.

And what they did was, you know, we're now managing to extract DNA from mammoth tissues, and we're learning a lot more about their anatomy and their physiology from the DNA. So these people actually found the gene from the mammoth DNA that codes for hemoglobin.

They then in the lab, in the test tube effectively, created mammoth hemoglobin and then just ran it through tests just like you would in a medical lab. And what they found was that the mammoth hemoglobin had certain differences from elephant hemoglobin. that enabled it to work at lower temperatures.

They then in the lab, in the test tube effectively, created mammoth hemoglobin and then just ran it through tests just like you would in a medical lab. And what they found was that the mammoth hemoglobin had certain differences from elephant hemoglobin. that enabled it to work at lower temperatures.

They then in the lab, in the test tube effectively, created mammoth hemoglobin and then just ran it through tests just like you would in a medical lab. And what they found was that the mammoth hemoglobin had certain differences from elephant hemoglobin. that enabled it to work at lower temperatures.

When I say work, they took the mammoth haemoglobin now to five degrees C and it was still able to pick up oxygen and then release the oxygen because that's how haemoglobin works. It picks up oxygen in our lungs and it releases it to the tissues like muscle tissues. The modern elephant haemoglobin stopped working before you got down to those low temperatures.

When I say work, they took the mammoth haemoglobin now to five degrees C and it was still able to pick up oxygen and then release the oxygen because that's how haemoglobin works. It picks up oxygen in our lungs and it releases it to the tissues like muscle tissues. The modern elephant haemoglobin stopped working before you got down to those low temperatures.

When I say work, they took the mammoth haemoglobin now to five degrees C and it was still able to pick up oxygen and then release the oxygen because that's how haemoglobin works. It picks up oxygen in our lungs and it releases it to the tissues like muscle tissues. The modern elephant haemoglobin stopped working before you got down to those low temperatures.

In other words, going back to your question about the feet, if you've got pretty cold feet, as the mammoth would have done standing in the snow and ice and so on, you still need to be able to get oxygen to the tissues of the feet, the muscles and all the rest of it. And so the hemoglobin of the mammoth was adapted to be able to do that even in virtually zero temperatures.

In other words, going back to your question about the feet, if you've got pretty cold feet, as the mammoth would have done standing in the snow and ice and so on, you still need to be able to get oxygen to the tissues of the feet, the muscles and all the rest of it. And so the hemoglobin of the mammoth was adapted to be able to do that even in virtually zero temperatures.

In other words, going back to your question about the feet, if you've got pretty cold feet, as the mammoth would have done standing in the snow and ice and so on, you still need to be able to get oxygen to the tissues of the feet, the muscles and all the rest of it. And so the hemoglobin of the mammoth was adapted to be able to do that even in virtually zero temperatures.

So what we're learning about these animals now goes beyond what traditional study of bones and even soft tissues. to the molecular level.

So what we're learning about these animals now goes beyond what traditional study of bones and even soft tissues. to the molecular level.