Harvard geneticist George Church and his colleagues used a gene-editing technique known as CRISPR to insert mammoth genes for small ears, subcutaneous fat, and hair length and color into the DNA of elephant skin cells. The work has not yet been published in a scientific journal, and has yet to be reviewed by peers in the field.
Woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) have been extinct for millennia, with the last of the species dying out about 3,600 years ago. But scientists say it may be possible to bring these and other species back from the grave, through a process known as de-extinction.
But we won't be seeing woolly mammoths prancing around anytime soon, "because there is more work to do," Church told U.K.'s The Times, "But we plan to do so," Church added.
Not all of the mammoth's genetic code was spliced into the elephant genome. In fact, only 14 genes were inserted -- ones most representative of the hairy, cold-enduring traits of the modern elephant's ancient relative. The genes were spliced into elephant skins cells using a technique called CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat).
Church and his assistants specifically selected the 14 spliced genes -- sourced from the skin cells of a frozen woolly mammoth carcass -- for their uniqueness to the woolly mammoth's hardy appearance.
"We prioritized genes associated with cold resistance including hairiness, ear size, subcutaneous fat and, especially, hemoglobin," Church told The Sunday Times.
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Woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) have been extinct for millennia, with the last of the species dying out about 3,600 years ago. But scientists say it may be possible to bring these and other species back from the grave, through a process known as de-extinction.
But we won't be seeing woolly mammoths prancing around anytime soon, "because there is more work to do," Church told U.K.'s The Times, "But we plan to do so," Church added.
Not all of the mammoth's genetic code was spliced into the elephant genome. In fact, only 14 genes were inserted -- ones most representative of the hairy, cold-enduring traits of the modern elephant's ancient relative. The genes were spliced into elephant skins cells using a technique called CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat).
Church and his assistants specifically selected the 14 spliced genes -- sourced from the skin cells of a frozen woolly mammoth carcass -- for their uniqueness to the woolly mammoth's hardy appearance.
"We prioritized genes associated with cold resistance including hairiness, ear size, subcutaneous fat and, especially, hemoglobin," Church told The Sunday Times.
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