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Extinct Mammoth, Coming To a Zoo Near You

Posted by timothy on from the no-unauthorized-reproduction dept.

Techmeology writes "Professor Akira Iritani of Kyoto University plans to use recent developments in cloning technology to give life to the currently extinct woolly mammoth. Although earlier efforts in the 1990s were unsuccessful due to damage caused by extreme cold, Professor Iritani believes he can use a technique pioneered by Dr Wakayama (who successfully cloned a frozen mouse) to overcome this obstacle. This technique will enable Professor Iritani to identify viable cell nuclei, and transfer them to egg cells of an African elephant which will carry the mammoth for a 600 day pregnancy."

6 of 312 comments (clear)

  1. That would be awesome by Dunbal · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Pleistocene park, coming soon to a zoo near you. Doesn't quite have the same ring as "Jurassic" though.

    Still I am willing to bet that this creature, if created, will be called "Manny", after our Ice Age mammoth movie star... any takers?

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    1. Re:That would be awesome by camperslo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Do you think they'll have nut obsessed rodents?

      As much as squirrels and others love nuts, I think some crows in Japan deserve credit for doing something different with nuts. NHK (via Mhz WorldView) reports that birds have learned not only to drop nuts in the roadway where cars break them open, but to do it at intersections where the traffic gets stopped so they can pick up the pieces.

      PBS also reported it:

      http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/brain/index.html

    2. Re:That would be awesome by MartinSchou · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Considering that elephants can run at 40 km/h, which is 100 meters in 9 seconds flat, 200 meters in 18 seconds and 400 meters in 36 seconds, and the world records for those distances are 9.58, 19.19 and 43.18 seconds respectively, I fail to see how the inability to outrun a mammoth has ever been a problem.

      Granted, we have no real knowledge of their actual speeds, so it could be 5 km/h but it could also be 60 km/h like a giraffe or 50 km/h like a white rhinoceros.

      Humans have never really had a need to outrun any of our prey animals. We have relied on intelligence, stamina and weapons to take them down, not speed and strength.

      But I'm guessing that just means you didn't descend from genes smart enough to outwit a cow.

  2. Now we'll find out.... by crhylove · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If my theory is right and there is an ingredient in Mammoth meat that makes our species sane!

    --
    I hold very few opinions. I hold information based on observation and fact. If you wish to disagree, please use facts.
  3. Re:jaunty tune by skine · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It seems a little strange to me that so many sciency-types tend to like Jurassic Park. I mean, yes it does have dinosaurs and a girl who loves Unix.

    OTOH: "Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."

    So, in the end, the scientists are blamed for the whole thing. Not the person who decided to make it a theme park. Not the person who disabled all of the security. Not even the person whose job it was to think: "What if all of our security goes?"

    The scientists.

  4. Re:before you do it by Adambomb · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Hannibal 2: The Carthaginianing

    They're crossing the Alps and this time THEY'RE WARM

    --
    Ice Cream has no bones.