Extinct Woolly Mammoth to be resurrected in 2 years, scientists say

Some 4,000 years ago the woolly mammoth went extinct, but now a team of Harvard scientists have announced they are on the drink of bringing the creature back from the dead using DNA from specimens frozen in Siberian ice.

The resulting creature called “mammophant”, would be part elephant with the distinct traits of the mammoth such as shaggy hair, small ears, subcutaneous fat and blood that would allow it to survive freezing temperatures. By bringing the animal back, scientists believe this is how they’d slow the thawing of permafrost.

Scientists at Harvard University plan to use Asian elephant embryos to create woolly mammoths.

The ice age mammal’s DNA could potentially be spliced with an Asian elephant to create a hybrid.

“The list of edits affects things that contribute to the success of elephants in cold environments”, he said.

It is awesome to see the efforts of scientists to bring back the prized possessions of nature and give us the privilege to experience the beauty of it. The mammoth lived in Africa, North America, Asia and Europe before they vanished 4,500 years ago, towards the end of the Pleistocene period. For example, mammoths were social animals like elephants, but there’s no way of knowing how a herd of elephants would welcome a mammophant. Not to mention there’s no way we can predict how this animal will fit in with other species.

Where’s Ian Malcolm when we need him?

Apparently, Chruch’s project is not for cloning a mammoth just because it is possible. Unlike the big-eared Asian elephant which normally occupies hot climates, the new species would be engineered to suit an Arctic climate with a thick coat of fur and small ears. The second is a potential solution to global warming. Woolly mammoths could prevent tundra permafrosts from melting, an event that would release a massive amount of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere.

In a piece for the Scientific American written in 2013, Church detailed a number of ways in which the hybrid creatures could help combat global warming if they live on the tundras of Russian Federation and Canada.

In an initial set of trials, CRISPR/Cas9 has been tested in mice by performing an ex-vivo procedure, which has the embryo growing outside a female’s womb. In China, some controversial researchers are even preparing a human trial looking to turn off genes that encode a specific protein linked to a lower immune response.

They haven’t roamed the Earth for more than around 4000 years, but scientists could be on the verge of bringing the woolly mammoth back with the help of their living relatives.

There are many ethical questions surrounding the use of gene editing itself, and many more with regards to this “de-extinction” project.