Scientists have been trying to clone woolly mammoths for years, but now they’re really close. So close that in five years you may see herds of this gigantic beast — one of our favourite extinct prehistoric animals of all time.
Scientists from Japan’s Kinki University and the Sakha Republic’s mammoth museum have discovered well-preserved marrow in a thigh bone discovered in Siberia, buried under the permafrost. The marrow is in such good condition that its cells’ DNA could be used to replace the nuclei of elephant egg cells. This will allow scientist to create mammoth embryos.
The team wants to plant these embryos inside the wombs of elephant mothers so they can grow until birth. Although bigger than elephants, both animals are similar enough for this to work. This is a similar technique used in current cloning processes. The key is that the DNA has to be intact in order for this process to work. This discovery is their chance to achieve their objective.
Bring’em on
Some may say that we should leave woolly mammoths rest in peace, that we shouldn’t play with nature. However, some theories say it were humans who actually drove the woolly mammoth to extinction. Shouldn’t we get it back? I say yes!
Every children in this world, myself included, would love to see these beasts roaming the tundra once again, along with bisons. In fact, I think we should bring more species exterminated by humans back to life. We can start with dodos. As long as we don’t bring a group of T-Rex back, we will fine.
Extra points: grilled mammoth chops. [Kyodo News via Daily Mail and AFP]