In 2013, scientists uncovered an authentic, viable woolly mammoth carcass frozen in Siberia’s permafrost. With this incredible discovery, it has sparked the interest of many scientists and eager people from the general population to “resurrect” these mighty herbivores who roamed the earth dating back to almost 40,000 years ago. There is a lot of speculation that this could indeed occur with the use of modern science and technology.
There are a few possible modern tools that have been hypothesized to be valuable in reviving wooly mammoths. The first uses the CRISPR to form a clone by sequencing the DNA from the wooly mammoth carcass. Another option is to place synthesized genes of the woolly mammoth an Asian Elephant’s embryo, the most closely related –alive relative of the woolly mammoth. There is speculation that reverse engineering could be used by comparing genomes of living species with the genomes of extinct species, then changing the live species genetic information to match that of the extinct species, and use this data to synthesize the extinct species.
There is much focus on potentially reviving the woolly mammoth, along with other species, in hopes to combat the issue of climate change. Specifically, scientists are focusing on how to decrease the melting of permafrost occurring in Siberia. The purpose of adding the woolly mammoth is the species will ingest the grass that can be grown on the permafrost, which will allow grass to flourish on the land, thus reducing the amount of heat and sunlight the ground absorbs. To summarize, woolly mammoths feeding on the terrain will reduce the melting of the ice by introducing colder air, and in return, keep the land frozen longer. The addition of herbivores on this land seems to be the focus.
However, woolly mammoths inhibited the earth close to 40,000 years ago so there is no real knowledge of what could occur if they tried to inhibit the land, they lived on millenniums ago. We have no way of knowing how the species will interact with its completely new environment. For example, could it survive with new natural predators. There is also much controversy over the subject in the general population. Some believe it oversteps the natural laws of nature. Overall, it would be monumental if scientists could genetically revive an extinct species and could possibly be used on a wide variety of species. I look forward to what is discovered with this experiment.
Switek, B. (2013, March 11). How to Resurrect Lost Species. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/3/130310-extinct-species-cloning-deextinction-genetics-science/
National Geographic (July 8, 2017). We Could Resurrect the Woolly Mammoth. Here’s How.Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/07/woolly-mammoths-extinction-cloning-genetics/
History (January 22, 2019). Are Scientists on the Verge of Resurrecting the Wholly Mammoth? Retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/wooly-mammoth-resurrection-cloning-genesis