* Astronomy

DNA clues to why woolly mammoth died out

The last woolly mammoths to walk the Earth were so wracked with genetic disease that they lost their sense of smell, shunned company, and had a strange shiny coat.
That's the verdict of scientists who have analysed ancient DNA of the extinct animals for mutations.
The studies suggest the last mammoths died out after their DNA became riddled with errors. The knowledge could inform conservation efforts for living animals.
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Ancient mammoth remains found in Switzerland

Mammoth remains that could be around 20,000 years old have been discovered at a building site in central Switzerland, a local official said Friday.
"It's a very exciting discovery, because the last mammoth find (in the canton of Zug) was 50 years ago," said Renata Huber of the canton's heritage and archaeological department. During the construction of an office building in the town of Rotkreuz late last month, a heavy digger emerged from the ground lifting what appeared to be a large tusk, Huber said.
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Mammoth genome sequence completed

An international team of scientists has sequenced the complete genome of the woolly mammoth.
A US team is already attempting to study the animals' characteristics by inserting mammoth genes into elephant stem cells. They want to find out what made the mammoths different from their modern relatives and how their adaptations helped them survive the ice ages.
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Mammoth and Mastodon Behavior Was Less Roam, More Stay at Home

According to research from the University of Cincinnati, the famously fuzzy relatives of elephants liked living in Greater Cincinnati long before it was trendy - at the end of the last ice age. A study led by Brooke Crowley, an assistant professor of geology and anthropology, shows the ancient proboscideans enjoyed the area so much they likely were year-round residents and not nomadic migrants as previously thought. 
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