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Scientists have reconstructed the genomes of giant Ice Age animals which existed about 800,000 years ago using a new technique that could boost our understanding of ancient man.

Through DNA analysis researchers were able to create the genome — which contains a mammal’s hereditary information — of a huge cave bear and a large horse that had been dead for hundreds of thousands of years.

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The breakthrough came thanks to next-generation DNA sequencers which can analyse tens of thousands of DNA fragments from remains found buried in ice to reveal how they all fitted together when the animal was alive.

Even mammals that died in moderate climates, whose remains are less well preserved, could now have their genomes reconstructed because research has suggested that certain types of DNA can survive outside of permafrost.

Ludovic Orlando, professor of genetics at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, led a team that managed to build the genome of a horse which lived on the plains of Canada up to 780,000 years ago. His group found that the predecessor to today’s horses, donkeys and zebras first walked the Earth between four and 4.5 million years ago — twice as long ago as experts had believed. “These techniques mean we can study evolutionary pathways and the relationships between long-extinct creatures and their modern counterparts,” said Prof Orlando.