"Japanese scientists hoping to clone prehistoric woolly mammoths are preparing their first frozen DNA samples in bid to bring the beasts back to life.

The bone marrow, muscle and skin specimens were unearthed last August in the Siberian tundra where they had been preserved in ice for thousands of years.

Researchers ... want to use the genetic material encased within the cells to clone a woolly mammoth...

But first, they must determine whether the five specimens airlifted from Russia are really from mammoths. If so, they must then decide whether the DNA locked inside is well enough preserved to self-replicate.

After that, it could take years to actually produce an animal."

Cool - then we can send the mammoths to Siberia and find out if they really do like living in frozen wastelands, with no buttercups to munch on.