Korean Mummy Discovered Complete with Handbag!

To prove that designer handbags are not just a modern phenomenon, a 500 year old mummy has been discovered in South Korea complete with a handbag!  Although more commonly associated with Ancient Egypt, people were commonly mummified in Korea and took their treasured possessions to the grave with them.  The mummy of this Korean lady was found in an industrial complex site in Osan, south of Seoul, and she is believed to have been the wife of a senior official during the Joseon Dynasty in the 16th century. She was buried with her favourite satchel, clothes and ornaments.

The mummification process was different in Korea to that which was practised in Ancient Egypt.  The Korean method relied on natural mummification where the body was placed in a type of tomb called a hoegyeok in a double-sided coffin that was covered with a limestone mixture.  This completely sealed off the body from air and moisture and the body dried out naturally.

Read the whole article on the Korean mummy and her handbag

Could Woolly Mammoths Walk The Earth Again?

Could woolly mammoths soon be walking on this planet again for the first time in around 10,000 years?  Scientists have been conducting a Jurassic Park-style experiment to extract DNA from a frozen woolly mammoth.  From this experiment they were able to reproduce the blood of this massive elephant-like creature with a thick, shaggy coat, and discovered that it contained a kind of anti-freeze that helped to keep the creatures warm in the blisteringly cold winters of the Ice Age.

The scientists believe that the technique that they have used could help to recreate proteins and body parts from other extincts animals, but being able to recreate a single protein from an animal from the Ice Age does not mean that they are yet able to create a whole, live animal.

Read the whole article on woolly mammoths and how woolly mammoths may be brought back from the dead