Scientists trying to clone, resurrect extinct mammoth
A woolly mammoth skeleton is seen on display at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas in September 2009.
January 17th, 2011
11:31 AM ET

Scientists trying to clone, resurrect extinct mammoth

Instead of Jurassic Park, try Pleistocene Park.

A team of scientists from Japan, Russia and the United States hopes to clone a mammoth, a symbol of Earth’s ice age that ended 12,000 years ago, according to a report in Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun. The researchers say they hope to produce a baby mammoth within six years.

The scientists say they will extract DNA from a mammoth carcass that has been preserved in a Russian laboratory and insert it into the egg cells of an African elephant in hopes of producing a mammoth embryo.

The team is being led by Akira Iritani, a professor emeritus at Kyoto University in Japan. He has built upon research from Teruhiko Wakayama of Kobe's Riken Center for Developmental Biology, who successfully cloned a mouse from cells that had been frozen for 16 years, to devise a technique to extract egg nuclei without damaging them, according to the Yomiuri report.

The U.S. researchers are in vitro fertilization experts. They, along with Kinki University professor Minoru Miyashita, will be responsible for implanting the mammoth embryo into an African elephant, the report said.

"If a cloned embryo can be created, we need to discuss, before transplanting it into the womb, how to breed [the mammoth] and whether to display it to the public," Iritani told Yomiuri. "After the mammoth is born, we'll examine its ecology and genes to study why the species became extinct and other factors."

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Filed under: Animals • Japan • Russia • U.S.
soundoff (1,588 Responses)
  1. Tre

    Can't wait to find out what species killing disease is hardwired into that DNA, and who will die because of ignorance. It's like ressurecting DOS and sticking it on a Vista network.

    January 17, 2011 at 2:59 pm | Report abuse |
  2. King Tut

    Bring me back to life. I've been waiting.

    January 17, 2011 at 3:00 pm | Report abuse |
    • Mike

      Maybe they could but alas a clone would not share his memory.

      January 17, 2011 at 3:01 pm | Report abuse |
  3. Km B

    Throw a rug on an elephant and call it good.

    January 17, 2011 at 3:00 pm | Report abuse |
  4. Annie V

    I've never read such bad grammar in my life.

    January 17, 2011 at 3:00 pm | Report abuse |
  5. Kay

    ONe day all have a pet rapter 🙂

    January 17, 2011 at 3:00 pm | Report abuse |
    • Mike

      I just see all those idiots that want to keep dangerous dogs wanting one. "Forgit Rottweiler ma I've got me a Raptor!"

      January 17, 2011 at 3:11 pm | Report abuse |
  6. hecep

    Don't show any cloned mammoth that skeleton on display. It would go ape and destroy the joint.

    January 17, 2011 at 3:01 pm | Report abuse |
    • MostPeopleAreStupid

      lol @ the mammoth will go ape ...

      January 17, 2011 at 3:32 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Jackie Treehorn

    I think it will be hilarious when they find out that human beings are genetically programmed to crap themselves whenever they see a mammoth. So much for that theme park.

    January 17, 2011 at 3:01 pm | Report abuse |
    • SirSean

      Thats awesome!

      January 17, 2011 at 3:29 pm | Report abuse |
  8. Jake Buskirk

    I prefer broccoli over cauliflower

    January 17, 2011 at 3:02 pm | Report abuse |
  9. BKS

    Informal Forum what it should be... but I haft to edit.
    One slight mistake in the Genome you may get King Kong soo watch out New Yorkers!! 🙂 🙂

    January 17, 2011 at 3:02 pm | Report abuse |
  10. Steve

    "After the mammoth is born, we'll examine its ecology and genes to study why the species became extinct and other factors"

    Isn't something like saying we need to rebuild an AMC Gremlin from it's engineering plans to figure out why people stopped buying it?

    Wouldn't it be a little more honest to say "We have mammoth DNA and there will be more research grants if we clone them than if we didn't?"

    January 17, 2011 at 3:03 pm | Report abuse |
    • KiraOsteo

      Well, Steve, there's actually some questions as to when/how the mammoth went extinct. Was it overhunting by humans? Pure climate change? A mix? How long could they have survived after the glaciers began to retreat?

      Plus there's the research of cloning something long frozen – a key step to restoring extinct species from frozen egg/sperm or increasing the breeding population of threatened ones. So if you like pandas, tigers, whales, or any other really popular-yet-threatened species, their research is relevant to your interests.

      January 17, 2011 at 3:18 pm | Report abuse |
  11. Jake Buskirk

    I used to be able to touch the tip of my nose with my tongue. I can't seem to do it anymore. Any suggestions for workout techniques that will help me regain this skill?

    January 17, 2011 at 3:04 pm | Report abuse |
    • Fun Bobby

      Eating lots of jelly beans works.

      January 17, 2011 at 4:17 pm | Report abuse |
  12. anne

    This is great! We may be able to bring back animals that humans have caused to be extinct. Like passenger pigeons or the dodo bird etc. Maybe this time we'll be a little better at protecting them.

    January 17, 2011 at 3:04 pm | Report abuse |
    • Mike

      Dodo would be good. However it would mean rewriting those 'well known sayings' books.

      January 17, 2011 at 3:08 pm | Report abuse |
  13. Funkymonkey1

    I used to have Mamoth genes stored in my house, but I lost weight and they don't fit anymore so I threw them out.

    January 17, 2011 at 3:05 pm | Report abuse |
    • Jake Buskirk

      we need more posts of this nature (no pun intended)

      January 17, 2011 at 3:07 pm | Report abuse |
  14. Jake Buskirk

    do you prefer the toilet paper to roll off the front or from the back? I prefer the paper to come off the back, but I am not sure why.

    January 17, 2011 at 3:05 pm | Report abuse |
    • Fun Bobby

      Most Germans prefer the TP to roll from the back. Are you German?

      January 17, 2011 at 4:19 pm | Report abuse |
    • Funny

      I prefer it to roll from the back so the cats can't unravel it. Lost many a roll before I figured out to reverse it.

      January 17, 2011 at 9:55 pm | Report abuse |
  15. Carlos

    Wow... 6 years?! I wonder why it will take so long.

    January 17, 2011 at 3:06 pm | Report abuse |
    • Mike

      Long gestation period?

      January 17, 2011 at 3:07 pm | Report abuse |
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