Woolly mammoth to be given a second chance at life

Back in the year 2007, the frozen carcass of a one-month-old woolly mammoth calf was discovered in Russia. The mammoth was estimated to have been frozen for approximately 10,000 years. Though the mammoth has been long gone and dead, it appears that scientists are trying to give it another shot at life – through the power of cloning. Scientists are trying to extract the correct cells of the woolly mammoth DNA and hope to insert the nuclei into the egg of an African elephant who will act as a surrogate mother for the woolly mammoth. If scientists successfully perform this operation, we might get the chance to see the woolly mammoth in the flesh again in a few years.Now we all know that cloning is a pretty sensitive issue and not many people are for it, and while there aren’t any benefits to having the woolly mammoth around (mammoth coats or meat anyone?), the idea that we will be able to set our eyes on a creature that was around before all of us? I think that alone and the fact that we can clone an animal to make it happen is reason enough. Perhaps scientists will discover more DNA samples of extinct animals and we could have one crazy zoo on earth that we can go to visit the dodo bird, sabertooth tiger, and who knows – the Tyrannosaurus Rex?

George Wong
Categories: General
Tags: clone, dna, life, scientists