Young Writers Society

Mammoths may roam again after 27,000 years (by Mark Henderson, The Times Online, August 15th 2006)

Bodies of extinct Ice Age mammals, such as woolly mammoths, that have been frozen in permafrost for thousands of years may contain viable sperm that could be used to bring them back from the dead, scientists said yesterday.

The mammoth is a close genetic cousin of the modern Asian elephant, and scientists think that the two may be capable of interbreeding.

The frozen mammoth sperm could be injected into elephant eggs, producing offspring that would be 50 per cent mammoth.

The suggestion that it may be possible to recreate an animal that is at least part-mammoth.

Back from the dead: Cloning Mammoths (Jacqui Hayes, Cosmos magazine, December 6th, 2006)

Not even ten years after the first mammal was cloned, scientists are racing to clone the first extinct species.

In 2002 Akira Iritani, from Kinki University in Japan, announced plans for his team to create 'Pleistocene Park' - a home for resurrected woolly mammoths, extinct for approximately 3,500 years. Later additions would include the woolly rhinoceros, which hasn't roamed the Earth for more than 10,000 years.

Iritani hoped, at first, to find frozen sperm from a mammoth. The sperm would be used to impregnate a modern-day elephant, creating a hybrid species. As more mammoths are born the elephant genes could eventually be bred out. Frozen sperm, though, would be an incredibly lucky find. As an insurance policy, any tissue samples found are stored, as the team firmly believes that scientists will find a way to piece together the fragmented DNA.

It's obviously a very ambitious idea. Success is not certain, but it is quite possible that these ideas could be made real in the not-too-distant future.

What do you think of using modern technology to bring back extinct species (including ones whose extinctions were due to humans in the first place)? On one hand it could be extremely fascinating, and shed light on things in the prehistoric world that would otherwise never be known. On the other hand, some argue that it is unethical for humans to "play god" in such a way.

It is indeed "playing God". I don't know about the ethics of it. I think it's fascinating that they could do this, but species go extinct for reasons. It's nature, it's natural selection, and we shouldn't fool with that. Of course, some will argue that we should use it to bring back animals we killed off in the first place. Why? So we can bring them to extinction again? Perhaps instead of spending all this money on research to resurrect mammoths, we could spend it on something more useful: stopping the extinction of species that are here right now.

Colleen

I think it's an excellent idea. Doubt it'll happen though - even if they can get the technique to work, there will be far to much protesting against it.

Also, as they'd be half breeds, wouldn't the animals then be infertile?

I, personally, have no problem with playing god, and have never really seen the fuss about it. At what point does science become playing god? After all, it could be argued that medical science - saving people who would have otherwise died - is 'playing god'.

What's so wrong about this? Resurrecting old species that have died off could provide great insight into what the earth was like at that time, and what made the species die off in the first place.

Prokaryote

We have all benefited from scientists "playing God" in the past -- which, by the way, is a terrible argument to anything -- scientific advances have always tried to be blocked by hypocritical people screaming "Stop playing God!". In the past, these advances have saved lives and continue to save lives.

I'm in two minds about the actual resurrection -- on one hand, yes, it would be fascinating to be able to study such creatures -- but I agree in some parts with Colleen, since it could be a complete waste of funds on something that might be trivial and take money away from more important matters.

Sounds like Jurrasic Park with Wooly Mammoths to me. Or should I say, Melaphants, if they are indeed half Elephant. Hehe. Well, i'm really not sure how good the outcome of this will be. It could be the start of something incredible. We could bring back extinct animals, at least partially. But then again, it could go horribly wrong and not work at all. Who knows? I know it would be a major scientific breakthrough, but I think we should spend that money on animals that are in danger of being extict now.

Yeah, but look what happened in Jurassic Park...

As an atheist, I can't actually say "Stop playing God!" because I don't believe in God. I'm all for scientific and medical advances, but you've got to stop at some point. Plastic surgery to reconstruct burn victims' faces? Yes. Plastic surgery for rich woman's nose? No. Stem cell research to cure cancers? Yes. Stem cell research so rich people can live to 200? No.

Yes, it would be fascinating to see this animals alive again, but they certainly wouldn't be free to roam the earth. They'd be locked up in some sterile research facility.

Well, yeah, cadmium -- that's the point. Resurrect them for research. I don't think anyone's talking about releasing them into the wild.

Prokaryote

Sureal wrote:
Also, as they'd be half breeds, wouldn't the animals then be infertile?

Depends on the number of chromosomes mammoths and elephants have. If the cross-breeds would end up with an even number of chromosomes, they won't necessarily be infertile.

I feel a bit split about it as well. On one hand I think it's amazing and exciting. I don't believe in the "playing god" argument either, because where does one draw the line? Vaccines? Bypass surgery? Space exploration?

On the other hand, I do feel that it is important to give priority to the species that need our help right now.

By the way, according the second article, a scientist is (and has been, for years) cultivating an environment for mammoths in Siberia that would hopefully be similar to what their natural habitat was. So they wouldn't exactly be locked in a sterile facility.

And, in addition to recreating mammoths for the purpose of research, there is of course the aspect of them becoming a public attraction...