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A Mammoth sized Resurrection


TriggerGod

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Researchers have managed to reconstruct the entire DNA of the former species in a world breakthrough that could also lead to a similar feat for the Dodo and Neanderthal man.

 

Now they believe they could implant the genetic code into the egg of its closest relative - the African elephant - and resurrect the species which died out around 4,500 years ago.

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An interesting article.

 

However, the following bothered me the most:

 

Some of the remaining DNA bases may belong to the mammoth, but others could belong to other organisms, like bacteria and fungi, from the surrounding environment that had contaminated the sample. The team used a draft version of the African elephant's genome, which currently is being generated by scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, to distinguish those sequences that truly belong to the mammoth from possible contaminants.

 

*shrugs* At any rate, this is a very cool advance (hopes to see Dodo, other extinct animals at some point in the future). :p I should hope, however, that nothing involving a deformed genetic code (if even one strand of DNA is messed up, it could have drastic results for the entire animal, if I recall my science correctly) occurs, lest we unleash some kind of sci-fi-sh monster upon the world (or, rather, pervert the entire science in its own right).

 

Another interesting topic that comes from this is the issue of cloning, but that's another thread in its own right. :p

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*shrugs* At any rate, this is a very cool advance (hopes to see Dodo, other extinct animals at some point in the future). :p I should hope, however, that nothing involving a deformed genetic code (if even one strand of DNA is messed up, it could have drastic results for the entire animal, if I recall my science correctly) occurs, lest we unleash some kind of sci-fi-sh monster upon the world (or, rather, pervert the entire science in its own right).
I that is the case, then I want my own centaur:

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We have the Mammoth Genome digitally recorded, but we lack the physical DNA to make a clone. Every specimen we have found has added to giving us the entire genome, but they all lack sufficient DNA samples to create an egg.

 

Why?

 

Because the fact they were all frozen ruins the cells. When something is frozen solid, the cells freeze as well. In they process, they crack, break, melt away, and any other unfortunate things. So, you get broken DNA in all the cells.

 

Without a complete cell, cloning is impossible. The thought of cloning Mammoths have been around for years, but actually realizing that dream is currently impossible.

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We have the Mammoth Genome digitally recorded, but we lack the physical DNA to make a clone. Every specimen we have found has added to giving us the entire genome, but they all lack sufficient DNA samples to create an egg.

 

Why?

 

Because the fact they were all frozen ruins the cells. When something is frozen solid, the cells freeze as well. In they process, they crack, break, melt away, and any other unfortunate things. So, you get broken DNA in all the cells.

 

Without a complete cell, cloning is impossible. The thought of cloning Mammoths have been around for years, but actually realizing that dream is currently impossible.

 

Right, and according to this they've uncovered a means to overcome such a dilemma.

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We've also got goddamn PETA. :(

 

:lol:

 

It was a fascinating story, and I was personally all for it for the instant after I heard of it. However, I have since changed my mind. Not from any Jurassic Park-esque disaster situation, though - I think that while the chances for scientific discovery are, possibly, immense, natural selection should not be meddled with.

 

Regarding species that we have endangered or wiped out, however, I would be for it - provided we could be certain of how to 're-integrate' it back into an ecosystem.

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