Technological Exploration
Could 40,000-year-old air still fill Lyuba’s lungs? Did she drown or suffocate? What other secrets about Lyuba’s life and death in the Pleistocene epoch lie inside her body? The experts raced against the clock to gather evidence and find out the details of her birth, behavior, physiology and death. Here are some of the tools they used:
A CT scan—or computed tomography scan—rotates through 360 degrees to create cross-sectional images of bones, organs and even their inner structures. CT scans are often used to diagnose muscle and bone disorders, to detect internal injuries or bleeding and to pinpoint the location of a tumor, infection or blood clot. CT scans are also used to facilitate delicate procedures including surgery, biopsy and radiation therapy.
Scientists used the CT scan to create 3-D images of Lyuba’s body from her trunk to her tail, to examine her internal organs and determine her possible cause of death. The CT scans of Lyuba showed healthy fat tissues and no sign of damage to her skeleton, indicating that the 110-pound calf was in good health when she died. CT scans also revealed the presence of large amounts of mud in her trunk, mouth and trachea, suggesting that she may have asphyxiated.
An endoscope is a long, flexible tube with a tiny camera and light attached to the end. It can be inserted through a natural opening, such as the mouth, to look inside a body cavity.
Scientists used an endoscope with a forceps on the end to examine, photograph and remove tissues samples from Lyuba. During this examination they found that Lyuba had recently consumed some of her mother’s milk as well as feces—a normal behavior in modern-day baby elephants, but that had not previously been documented in mammoths. Because baby elephants lack the ability to digest plant material, they eat elephant feces to build up bacterial colonies in their own intestines to assist in the digestive process.
Biopsy involves removing a small amount of tissue with an auger, syringe or scalpel.
Scientists biopsied small pieces of Lyuba’s tissue for DNA analysis in hopes of learning more about the genetic diversity of mammoths in the Pleistocene at the end of the ice age. They also want to find the answer to the question that continues to elude mammoth experts: What caused the extinction of these fascinating creatures?
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