Mammoths believed to be extinct for over 5,000 years, is the center of the scientific project by a team of scientists led by Professor Akira Iritani of the Kyoto University. The team also includes two American elephant experts and a Russian mammoth researcher.
The study reportedly started in 1997. During that time, it has not really made any significant progress due to concerns of how safely to extract DNA samples from species frozen for many years. However, in 2008, Dr. Teruhiko Wakayama succeeded on cloning a mouse that has been frozen for 16 years.
Last summer, the team obtained a tissue from a preserved carcass of a mammoth in Russia. With the significant development that the study has made in the last couple of years, the team will start this year the cloning process of the mammoth.
Scientists said that they will take nuclei from the mammoth cells and insert it on the egg cell of an elephant. The mammoth’s nuclei will replace that of the elephant to create an embryo that will contain the extinct specie’s genes. After which, scientists will insert the embryo to an elephant’s womb until it gives birth.
Professor Iratani is optimistic of the scientific project. He said,
"The success rate in the cloning of cattle was poor until recently, but now stands at about 30 percent. I think we have a reasonable chance of success and a healthy mammoth could be born in four or five years."Mammoths are gigantic wooly animals that are close relatives of today’s elephants. They were believed to have suffered extinction due to climate change, over hunting and disease.
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