Sunday 16 January 2011

A Mammoth Task


Here's a fascinating article which tells us that the woolly mammoth, extinct for thousands of years, could be brought back to life in as little as four years thanks to a breakthrough in cloning technology.

Akira Iritani, a professor at Kyoto University, intends to use Dr Wakayama's technique to identify the nuclei of viable mammoth cells before extracting the healthy ones.

The nuclei will then be inserted into the egg cells of an African elephant, which will act as the surrogate mother for the mammoth.

Professor Iritani said he estimates that another two years will be needed before the elephant can be impregnated, followed by the approximately 600-day gestation period.

He has announced plans to travel to Siberia in the summer to search for mammoths in the permafrost and to recover a sample of skin or tissue.

1 comment :

Mad Mandy Moans said...

Sometimes you freak me out ... i have been reading Jean M Auel's Earth's Children. One of the books is called the Mammoth Hunters. Tigger got me a Kindle for Christmas and although I love the smell of books I have been able to download some for nothing. Some for 72 pence. How cool is that? Found a new author (to me that is) Stephen Leather. Still love Colin Bateman. Biker Babe took me to No Alibi's but he must have heard I was coming and legged it.