Wooly Mammoth Clones Closer Than Ever, Thanks to Genome Sequencing

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Scientists are one step closer to bringing a woolly mammoth back to life.

A new analysis of the woolly mammoth genome has revealed several adaptations that allowed the furry beasts to thrive in the subzero temperatures of the last ice age, including a metabolism that allowed them to pack on insulating fat, smaller ears that lost less heat and a reduced sensitivity to cold.

The findings could enable researchers to "resurrect" the ice-age icon — or at least a hybridized Asian elephant with a few of the physical traits of its woolly-haired cousin, said study co-author Vincent Lynch, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago.

"It won't be that long till we're technically able to do it, but whether we should is a different question," Lynch told Live Science, referring to cloning a mammoth. "I don't think we should."

Would be awesome to see them do this with the saber-toothed tiger.

originally posted by: Kromlech

Would be awesome to see them do this with the saber-toothed tiger.

So I did a quick Google search and sure enough there have also been preserved Saber-Tooth cats found! But resurrecting them???

I am thinking that is bad, bad idea...

What could possibly go wrong......

originally posted by: abeverage

originally posted by: Kromlech

Would be awesome to see them do this with the saber-toothed tiger.

So I did a quick Google search and sure enough there have also been preserved Saber-Tooth cats found! But resurrecting them???

I am thinking that is bad, bad idea...

Wait when it happens. People would wanna keep it at home as pet. lol

What happens if they bring a virus with them that kills all the elephants. Not a good idea. But would love to see one but a bit worried.

originally posted by: Cloudbuster
What happens if they bring a virus with them that kills all the elephants. Not a good idea. But would love to see one but a bit worried.

The virus isn't going to be in the Mammoths genome though. There would be no threat to extant species. The reverse however is far more likely, that the Mammoths would be susceptible to modern diseases they would have no immunity for as they wouldn't have come in contact with them during the LGM

a reply to: Kromlech

We have killed off the elephants for hunting, tusks, farm space and zoos, why bring back another larger animal? High paying sports hunters?

a reply to: Kromlech

This is great news however it's a matter of time before idiots start hunting and killing them for sport and goods.

Hairy elephants and big cats.... boring

I want to see some Raptors.

a reply to: Kromlech

I hate to say it but at this point I feel it would hasten the end.

Phycosomatic nightmare for nature, it's alive and aware too....just not human.

Folks don't take the grid for what it is, this is a framework...

Fix earth first then it will support the natural inhabitants again and have at it, till then fix earth.

It's really cool to know we can and we should definitely catagonizes and preserve for the future though.

Who knows maybe we collectively will decide to fix this, I look to the possibility to see change in my life time and watch it happen all the time....the tempo is off though....

I'm looking forward to seeing them alive and well again.

Who knows, they may have some sort of natural immunity to some disease we haven't found a cure for yet.....

By the sounds of it, it wouldn't be an actual woolly mammoth but a tamer version with traits of it's cousin. I would love to see some of the animals of the past in real life instead of in books and movies.
It does have to be done for the proper reasons and not for rich hunters to add something different to their list of trophies.

These aminals were extinct for a reason, much like the dinosaurs. bringing them back would upset the balance of nature, depending how many they clone and what they do with them.

Interesting though to see where this all goes.

Even if they bring them back, mere numbers of them that would be bring back would not upset anything in nature. Amount of learned should be already sufficient to bring them back. Not sure where they would have to live, as most of earth today is loosing habitat that would work for such a big animal with no cooling down capabilities. (Today elephants use their ears to cool down, and Mammoth has small ears, probably cause of their extinction after last ice age)

Yeah.... Bring it back so it can go extinct again thanks to humans... poor thing just can't get some rest.