Scientists Are Inching Closer to Bringing Back the Woolly Mammoth: Mar 6, 2024

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Mar 6, 2024 10:12 AM

Scientists Are Inching Closer to Bringing Back the Woolly Mammoth​

De-extinction startup Colossal Biosciences claims it has found a way to reprogram elephant cells, a technical breakthrough that could lead to the return of the long-lost mammals.

Courtesy of Colossal

De-extinction startup Colossal Biosciences wants to bring back the woolly mammoth. Well, not the woolly mammoth exactly, but an Asian elephant gene-edited to give it the fuzzy hair and layer of blubber that allowed its close relative to thrive in sub-zero environments.
To get to these so-called “functional mammoths,” Colossal’s scientists need to solve a whole bunch of challenges: making the right genetic tweaks, growing edited cells into fully formed baby functional mammoths, and finding a space where these animals can thrive.
It’s a long, uncertain road, but the startup has just announced a small breakthrough that should ease some of the way forward.

Scientists Are Inching Closer to Bringing Back the Woolly Mammoth

De-extinction startup Colossal Biosciences claims it has found a way to reprogram elephant cells, a technical breakthrough that could lead to the return of the long-lost mammals.

www.wired.com

And this is being done, why? Because they can?

If successful it establishes a precedent of acceptability.
Then what ?

Neanderthal ? Then what? A minority proliferating through our culture that is genuinely inferior?

Scientists Are Inching Closer to Bringing Back the Woolly Mammoth

De-extinction startup Colossal Biosciences claims it has found a way to reprogram elephant cells, a technical breakthrough that could lead to the return of the long-lost mammals.

www.wired.com

 

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Scientists created a ‘woolly mouse’ with mammoth traits. Is it a step toward bringing back the extinct giant?​

By Katie Hunt, CNN / 5:27 PM EST, Wed March 5, 2025


The company plans to recreate the mammoth, dodo, and Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, by editing the genome of each species’ closest living relative to make a hybrid animal that would be visually indistinguishable from its extinct forerunner. Ultimately, the company wants to restore the fauna to their natural habitat.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/04/science/woolly-mouse-mammoth-resurrection-colossal/index.html

 

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I saw that the other day.

Over the years there has been a lot of speculation as to how this would be accomplished. One would be to extract enough mammoth DNA to grow a complete animal from scratch (a clone as it were). The other, and perhaps more realistic, approach would be to splice mammoth DNA with an elephant's - the offspring would be "almost" a mammoth - and the next step would be to splice mammoth DNA with that animals - after a few generations of this the result would be an animal that was almost entirely mammoth.

 

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The science, technology may be impressive.
But ethics seems to have been overlooked.

Elephants are threatened by extinction, their migration routes disrupt African (& Indian?) farmers.
If there was abundant free range for woolly mammoths, and releasing them to establish a stable population was a viable solution, it might not be so concerning.
Is there? Anwr?

The dodo may be the more marketable resurrection, particularly if they're delicious.

My doubt stems from future implications:
- breeding humans with 600 IQ so they can run for president and undo Trump policies,
or cure the common cold. But what if they too are Putin chums?
- Primates scamper about the rainforest canopy effortlessly, due to muscle tissue that differs from humans (also primates).
Human history is crammed full of innovations being turned to military application. Might we clone a warrior class? Obedient, extremely powerful, etc?

Those currently retired may not ever have to deal with these complications. But The Sorcerer's Apprentice has warned us. We needn't worry about finding trouble. We can create our own.

 

[Shiftless2]

If there was abundant free range for woolly mammoths

The northern tundra - think Siberia

 

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DIY search: siberian peasants eat woolly
Reportedly until fairly recently, they've been eating mammoths that died many centuries earlier.
So now all the Ruskies need is a few tasty recipes.
I still think I'd rather eat a dodo.

Also, for tundra near or North of the Arctic Circle, not clear to me how such a large animal could endure a 6 month night.
Apparently mammoths did in millennia past. I'm not sure how, unless they huddled together in a sauna. And enjoyed Beefaroni from a can?
Polar bears might, but they're carnivores. Different metabolism. Might mammoths hibernate? If so, what's the gene sequence for that? Can I get one? [Honey! I'm going to take a nap. Wake me in August.]