Harvard Doctor Playing God? Will Bring Dead Woolly Mammoth Back To Life In 6 Years
Scientists are working to bring back the long-gone woolly mammoth on Earth. In less than 6 years, the first woolly mammoths could roam the planet again
Think of elephants but with a much larger body and heavier tusks and what you get is a woolly mammoth. These gigantic creatures from the same family as contemporary elephants roamed the Earth about 10,000 years ago before perishing. Now, scientists want to bring them back.
Colossal, a genetics and bioscience company has raised $15 million to bring back the woolly mammoth to the Arctic tundra. While the discussion around bringing back extinct animals like woolly mammoths has existed for a while, it is materialising only now.
Colossal was co-founded by Ben Lamm, a software and tech entrepreneur and George Church, a genetics professor at Harvard Medical School.
A woolly mammoth is depicted in this artist impression | Reuters
How will scientists revive woolly mammoths?
For starters, scientists intend to create an elephant-mammoth hybrid by developing embryos carrying mammoth DNA in a lab setting. Skin cells from Asian elephants will be taken and reprogrammed into stem cells representing mammoth DNA.
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Remains of a woolly mammoth | Reuters
A lot of animal genetic material has been recovered from the melting of permafrost by scientists. And they intend to use these to recreate the woolly mammoth while combining other characteristics like heavy hair and layers of fat with DNA from Asian elephants.
Once developed, the embryos would be allowed to grow in an artificial womb or in a surrogate mother. If things go as planned, the first set of calves could walk the Earth again in less than six years.
Is this another vanity project?
The cold-resistant woolly mammoths were able to survive even in -40 degree Celsius and knocked down trees, as is typical of elephant species.
A woolly mammoth is depicted in this artist impression | Reuters
While this might sound like a vanity project, it's actually aimed at preserving the Asian elephants which are now endangered. By equipping them with superior DNA, scientists hope to retain the elephant on Earth.
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With this, they believe that disrupted ecosystems in the Arctic tundra may be restored by the reintroduction of woolly mammoths.
Do you think it's a good to bring back a dead species and playing God? Let us know in the comments. For more on science and tech, keep visiting /.
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