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Resurrecting the Mighty Mammoth, Cheaply
somanyrobots writes with an interesting followup in the New York Times to the earlier-reported substantial reconstruction of the woolly mammoth genome: "Scientists are talking for the first time about the old idea of resurrecting extinct species as if this staple of science fiction is a realistic possibility, saying that a living mammoth could perhaps be regenerated for as little as $10 million. The same technology could be applied to any other extinct species from which one can obtain hair, horn, hooves, fur or feathers, and which went extinct within the last 60,000 years, the effective age limit for DNA." (The Washington Post article linked from the earlier post was much more skeptical, calling such an attempt "still firmly the domain of science fiction." The New York Times article, while describing the process in similar terms, also calls attention to recent advances in sequencing DNA, as well as recoding DNA for cloning.)
Quick, tell the fundies that they can get the DNA from the Shroud of Turin and, for $10,000,000, they'll have the second coming!
They can also get DNA from one of the millions pf pieces of the cross that are floating around (there's enough pieces of the cross to build a fleet of arks, but that's another story - must be the old "loaves and fishes" trick writ large).
How many people would like to own a clone of Jesus? Or for Catholics - a special - a clone of Mary - you can be the first to Fuck the Mother of God!!! Create a Jesus that has YOUR DNA!!! Only $10,000,000.00
And for atheists - imagine being able to tell Jesus to STFU in PERSON! $10 a head, come on ....
Instead of fretting about the long-gone mammoth, why don't we prevent the extinction of thousands of plant, fish and animal species that is occurring EVERY HOUR OF EVERY DAY OF EVERY YEAR due to HUMAN ACTIVITY?
you had me at #!