An international expedition in Russia's Yakutia republic has found the "living cells" of a mammoth.

      "We've managed to found a unique area for researches at the depth of about 100. There are soft and adipose tissues, fur and bone marrow of a mammoth," Semyon Grigoryev, chief of the Yana-2012 expedition.

      When analyzing the bone marrow through a high-resolution microscope, scientists discovered a visibly undamaged karyon, or a cell nucleus.

      Controversial South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-Suk has already manifested an interest in the discovery. He seeks an ability to use the mammoth's cells as a material for cloning. Earlier, Hwang created the world's first dog clone, an Afghan hound puppy, in 2005.

      However, experts from the Institute of Paleontology of the Russian Academy of Sciences say the discovery of living mammoth cells is unlikely. They add that cell structure with nucleus needed a stable exchange with the environment to stay alive. However, the unique find revives hopes for cloning mammoths, as the scientists have so far failed to fully extract the intact DNA of a mammoth.