Fossilized squirrel poop full of ancient animals, and more…

Gold miners working in the Yukon regularly find ancient ground squirrel burrows throughout the permafrost, many containing fossilized feces. Researchers analyzing these well-preserved poop piles found they contain some of the oldest DNA ever recovered, dating from 30,000 to 700,000 years ago. Tucked inside were traces of a wide range of ancient animals, including woolly mammoths, grasshoppers, steppe bison, ancient horses, American cheetahs, as well as hundreds of plant species.PLUS:‘Super-good, ice-making microbes’ may trigger snow and rain, or help freeze foodWe’re a hotbed of mutations, and scientists are leveraging that for our healthGoing out on a limb. Animals regrow body parts, maybe we can tooFrom the archives: Isaac Asimov on human creativity and robots