Mammoth Proteome Described

Mammoth Proteome Described

the-scientist.com

An international team of researchers have uncovered 126 proteins from the femur of a prehistoric woolly mammoth, paving the way for the proteomic exploration of other long-dead organisms.

The researchers used mass spectrometry and refined the sample preparation techniques …. Analysis yielded blood and extracellular matrix proteins, as well as albumin, which is sufficiently variable between species to be used to study evolutionary relationships across the animal kingdom.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This announcement follows a claim that cloning a woolly mammoth is within reach, made on December 6, 2011. Apparently, the DNA was too degraded to analyze, so researchers focused on the proteins instead, and modified their objectives from cloning to "studying evolutionary relationships."

Also of interest, Irish betting company Paddy Power was taking bets on the cloning potential:

Modern Day Mammoth?

……teams from the Sakha Republic mammoth museum and Kinki University in Japan plan to extract DNA from the marrow of one recently discovered mammoth and use it to clone the ancient beast, AFP reported.

The chosen mammoth was unearthed this past August in Siberia. The researchers say that its thigh bone is in good condition, and should yield DNA-containing marrow….

…Not long after the announcement, Irish betting company Paddy Power began taking bets on whether the ice age giants can be cloned within 5 years. Short-term odds are gloomy, with 8:1 against a cloned wooly mammoth by 2014 and only 5:2 for a 2017-2018 finish date. The odds-on favorite location for a mammoth zoo is Russia, the company said.

If you're excited about the prospect of cloned mammoths inhabiting our world, even though they went extinct about 10,000 years ago, don't despair. Global warming is melting the Siberian permafrost, and several preserved mammoths already have been found. No doubt there are more to come as the ice melts, and odds are, there'll be intact DNA somewhere.


the-scientist.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by soficrow


Science sure does waste a lot of money.

Studying the diets of long extinct creatures.

Cloning.

It's like, huh?

I get the feeling that when they do clone a mammoth we may be a little disappointed. A hairy elephant isn't that exciting and it will be half elephant. I'm holding out for a dinosaur now that is something I would pay good money to see.

reply to post by soficrow

Dear soficrow,

Right. Huge scientific value. Big addition to biology. But what then? (New writing style. Short choppy phrases. Don't like it much.)

Do they ever get released into the wild? Does any species we "re-create" ever get released? Do they become a new Rattus Norvegicus? I don't know. I just have a tiny bad feeling. Don't know if it's scientific or ethical problem.

Heck with this, please pardon the language. Back to normal writing.

Maybe I'm having a reaction to the Jurassic Park movies, or perhaps it has something to do with PETA. I wish I could remember the source of the quote "Just because something can be done, doesn't mean it should be done."

I know I'm overreacting, and there will be all sorts of special controls and protocols in place. I'm just reporting an emotional feeling to these articles.

With respect,
Charles1952

reply to post by applesthateatpeople


Learning about our planet and it's history is not a waste of money. Also, the scientific techniques pioneered in these experiments are extremely valuable to increasing our understanding of nature. We are quickly on our way to having a decent understanding of the world around us, the benefits of scientific exploration and expansion of our collective knowledge cannot simply be measured with a pricetag.

Originally posted by tarifa37
I get the feeling that when they do clone a mammoth we may be a little disappointed. A hairy elephant isn't that exciting and it will be half elephant. I'm holding out for a dinosaur now that is something I would pay good money to see.

Why would it be half elephant? A clone isn't a cross between two animals, it's a duplicate made entirely from the DNA of a single creature.

reply to post by lifeissacred


I expected that kind of response. I respect what you're saying, but I say we focus on spending money on more important things. Like human issues. I have no idea how cloning a prehistoric elephant will help us understand ourselves, but obviously some people do. If something goes extinct, then it has no place in nature anymore. Paleontology is a big waste of time.

There are more important things to focus on, like jobs, and safety. We spent billions and billions of dollars on space programs like NASA, and what good came of it? A few rocks? We still have no way of defending our planet from an asteroid, do we?

Why not use that money on medical research?

I promise you, no good will come of cloning. None.

No good will come from studying the diets of prehistoric elephants. None.

Nobody has any money anymore, because we waste it on things that have no value, other than scholarly value.

I'm sure the most that comes out of this study is a book.

reply to post by avocadoshag


Might of got the idea from a similar article like this one -

Their plan is to implant the DNA in the nucleus of an egg cell taken from a modern-day female elephant. The egg will then be placed in the womb of a female elephant, which will serve as a surrogate mother for the mammoth. Assuming a gestation period similar to that of a regular elephant, the baby mammoth should be born about a year-and-a-half to two years later. Taking all things into account, the team believes that it could produce a living mammoth in as little as five years’ work.

Cloning is a slowly emerging science that has seen some success in the past, with the success of cloning mice and sheep leading to the feasibility of cloning a mammoth. However, a woolly mammoth is much more genetically complex than rodents or sheep, and the use of 10,000-year-old frozen genetic material in the cloning process doesn’t sound extremely promising. Even if we assume that the cloning process works out perfectly, there are still some issues.

No one can really say just how well the gestation and birth will go, or whether the woolly mammoth would even be able to survive in present times. This isn’t to say that scientists have no hope of ever bringing a woolly mammoth back into the world, but this cloning team doesn’t seem to have a promising plan, according to Turner. “A more realistic approach— and one which I think most scientists would agree is going to be possible— would be to genetically engineer living elephants with mammoth DNA,” said Professor Turner. “One research team has already spliced mammoth DNA into a bacterial genome and gotten the bacteria to produce mammoth hemoglobin!”

Source

Has some more relevant information pertaining to the op so worth checking out.

Personally I welcome the possibility of a cloned wholly mammoth,we will call him Mr. Snuffleupagus

S&F from me op,thank you for the post,I enjoy any information involved on the subject in general.

reply to post by PerfectPerception


Here's a 2005 article on the the cloning question and the controversy:

The cloning question

Cloning an extinct mammoth is a possibility.

The recovery of the Jarkov Mammoth from the permafrost of the Taimyr Peninsula, Siberia, was featured in the Discovery Channel’s television documentary “Raising the Mammoth.” A portion of the program was devoted to the possibility of cloning a woolly mammoth, if high-quality DNA could be recovered from the carcass. That concept caught the imagination of people of all ages worldwide. The response was a large number of questions and comments, both pro and con, on the possibility, feasibility, and consequences of such an endeavor.

To date no mammoth DNA has been suitable for cloning.
The DNA recovered from the Jarkov Mammoth was of insufficient quantity and quality to allow any further experiments with that individual. Another mammoth, known as the Fishhook Mammoth , also from the Taimyr Peninsula, provided better DNA but was still unsuitable for a cloning process. Many researchers feel there will never be a good enough DNA sample preserved in animals frozen under natural conditions because of the degrading effects of freeze-thaw cycles and microbes in the soil. On the other hand, there are many frozen specimens within the permafrost regions of the northern hemisphere, and one of them may produce satisfactory DNA.1,2

Cloning mammoths is controversial.

The controversy

Almost instantaneously, opposition to a possible cloning project began. The arguments fell into several categories: (1) legality of cloning, (2) morality, (3) feasibility, and (4) potential of success. These will be addressed briefly here.

BTW - Does anyone here think that extinct animals have already been cloned?



.

Originally posted by tarifa37
I get the feeling that when they do clone a mammoth we may be a little disappointed. A hairy elephant isn't that exciting and it will be half elephant. I'm holding out for a dinosaur now that is something I would pay good money to see.

No, it won't be half elephant.

reply to post by soficrow


Thanks for that article

Have extinct species been cloned already unbeknownst to the populace?

I would think it is very possible to do something like that behind closed doors,small group of scientists,on government payroll sure.We would never hear zilch about it,that's my opinion at least.

reply to post by PerfectPerception

I would think it is very possible to do something like that behind closed doors,small group of scientists,on government payroll sure.We would never hear zilch about it,that's my opinion at least.

Why the "government"? ...I can see a for-profit plan to create a zoo of extinct animals, maybe $100,000 a pop - but what would any government get out of it?

Originally posted by soficrow
reply to post by PerfectPerception

 

I would think it is very possible to do something like that behind closed doors,small group of scientists,on government payroll sure.We would never hear zilch about it,that's my opinion at least.

Why the "government"? ...I can see a for-profit plan to create a zoo of extinct animals, maybe $100,000 a pop - but what would any government get out of it?

It does not necessarily have to be limited to only 'government' I was only alluding the fact that I am sure if they did not want the cloning to be known,they would simply use a small team of isolated scientists,on their payroll that would also mean signing confidentiality agreements,swearing oath to never reveal any sensitive information about the project.

I am sure there easily could be big corps willing and wanting to do the same and able to keep it behind closed doors and away from prying eyes.

What could the government get out of it? well,that will depend on who you ask and what their spectrum of belief/disbelief range entails.

I know that the more successful any cloning becomes can hopefully only help & hypothetically pave the way for helping endangered species as they already have mentioned and done before.

There are at least half a dozen serious projects to investigate the possible use of cloning to preserve some of the world's most threatened species. The animals being considered range from the giant panda and the Sumatran tiger, to the African bongo antelope and the pygmy hippo.

There have already been clones of endangered animals. The most famous was Noah, a baby gaur, a wild ox-like bovine from south-east Asia, which was cloned using the eggs and surrogate wombs of domestic cows. Unfortunately, Noah died within the first 48 hours of being born due to an intestinal infection that may have been made worse by the fact that he was a hybrid clone of a gaur and a cow.

More recently, scientists have had more success with the European mouflon, a rare breed of sheep found in Sardinia, Corsica and Cyprus, which was cloned in 2001. In 2003, a separate team of scientists cloned another type of wild cattle called a banteng, using cow eggs and surrogate mother cows.

Source

reply to post by PerfectPerception


Cloning is about pursuing human longevity and "immortality." The real goal is parts replacement. Whomever nails it will be rich beyond their wildest dreams.

I have no doubt the industry is controlled privately without any governments' involvement - except maybe to secure funding for (misrepresented) projects or phases. I do suspect efforts are much further along than we will ever know.



Darn. Meant to say thanks for your posts - great links and info.

Mammoth steak will be immense

Originally posted by soficrow
reply to post by PerfectPerception

 

Cloning is about pursuing human longevity and "immortality." The real goal is parts replacement. Whomever nails it will be rich beyond their wildest dreams.

I have no doubt the industry is controlled privately without any governments' involvement - except maybe to secure funding for (misrepresented) projects or phases. I do suspect efforts are much further along than we will ever know.



Darn. Meant to say thanks for your posts - great links and info.

edit on 16/12/11 by soficrow because: (no reason given)

edit on 16/12/11 by soficrow because: (no reason given)

That is definitely one of the main reasons I could see many pursuing this subject and behind closed doors for good reason,With all the controversy with cloning organs,stem cell research and the fear and immorality of finally cloning a Human.

As I am sure you are probably aware,Immortality and attempts at becoming a "demi-god" echo throughout our history in the search of everlasting life.

Gilgamesh and Alexander the great come to mind,seeking the illusive,legendary 'elixir of immortality' or 'fountain of youth' that gave the user eternal life.

I agree with you that they are most likely a good bit further than what many would believe them to be.
I can still remember hearing on c2c a few years back about medical breakthroughs where they had pills that would be classified as 'designer drugs' parents wanting their kids to be big,strong and fast or handsome,brilliant could get these theoretical pills? wild and I am sure they are working on something similar in the future.

This theory is probably way out there, but the reason "elephant" is being brought up is because it is the direct descendant of the wooly mammoth.

Shave a wooly mammoth and you get...

I thought this was general knowledge, but I was a dinosaur nut when I was little.

reply to post by PerfectPerception


Yes - there's a long history of men pursuing "immortality." .....Much (or all) of the Nazi's "medical research" was about this pursuit - and it's not coincidental that most of the ongoing experimentation occurs in South America, where so many Nazi's settled after escaping.

I can still remember hearing on c2c a few years back about medical breakthroughs where they had pills that would be classified as 'designer drugs' parents wanting their kids to be big,strong and fast or handsome,brilliant could get these theoretical pills?

Maybe HGH? ....but the real "life extension" is not about pills - the real "benefits" result from stem cell therapies, which require (successful) cloning. I have no doubt such procedures are already offered at many exclusive clinics. ....Cryogenic facilities for cord and 'young' stem cells were opened as early as the 1960's for the very rich - the industry has developed and expanded enough that the same services are now offered to the middle class, quite publicly.

In short, the 1% think they're positioned well enough to survive the atrocities they have perpetrated on the lower peasant classes.