The News:
Giant mammoths may roam again
Scientists decipher the beast's genetic code, making its re-creation possible someday.
By Seth Borenstein The Associated Press
Updated: 11/19/2008 07:42:48 PM MST
WASHINGTON — Bringing "Jurassic Park" one step closer to reality, scientists have deciphered much of the genetic code of the woolly mammoth, a feat they say could allow them to re-create the shaggy, prehistoric beast in as little as a decade or two.
The project marks the first time researchers have spelled out the DNA of an extinct species, and it raised the possibility that other ancient animals such as mastodons and sabertooth tigers might someday walk the Earth again.
"It could be done. The question is, just because we might be able to do it one day, should we do it?" asked Stephan Schuster, a Penn State University biochemist and co-author of the new research. "I would be surprised to see if it would take more than 10 or 20 years to do it."
The million-dollar mammoth study resulted in a first draft of the animal's genome, detailing the ice-age creature's more than 3 billion DNA building blocks. The research published in today's issue of the journal Nature also gives scientists new clues about evolution and extinction. Read on...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Nature.
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1 comment:
I think anyone planning to resurrect Giant Mammoths should have to file an environmental impact statement first--- I mean, really... Giant Mammoths could like totally destroy Denver in a murderous mammoth rampage and you know, like, the insurance companies wouldn't honor your coverage cause of like the Giant Mammoth Exclusion Clause... anyway, I think Giant Sloths are way much cooler...
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