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Ice Age mammal 'may walk again' |
 The
woolly mammoth could be brought back to life
eleven thousand years after becoming extinct, in
a Jurassic Park like breakthrough.
Scientists from the US and Russia have
pieced together 80% of the species' genome,
using DNA samples of hair preserved from two
mammoths mummified from the ice age. They hope
the ground-breaking development will be a step
closer in bringing back the vast beasts from
extinction, by inserting their genes into a
modern-day elephant.
Professor Stephan Schuster, a leading member of
the research team from Pennsylvania State
University, said the find would allow scientists
to retrieve the genetic information that was
believed to have been lost when the mammoth died
out. He added it may "bring an extinct species
that modern humans have missed meeting by only a
few thousand years."
But there may be setbacks, as thousands of years
of frozen ice has caused the genetic material to
be degraded. The team also faces the challenge
of telling apart intact DNA samples from damaged
ones. It is possible to be fooled into thinking
samples contaminated with DNA from fungi and
micro-organisms originate from a mammoth.
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Click here to view the full article from its
original source at SkyNews.com |
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Image Copyright:
Woolly mammoth at the
Royal BC Museum,
Victoria, British Columbia. |
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