Efforts to ensure a woolly mammoth resurrection have been in the news. Various scientists world wide a seeking to “de-extinct” a number of long gone animals. Apparently the re-appearance of the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) is one big step closer.
According to Newsweek the source of the excitement is the development of a tiny new creature – the woolly mouse.
De-extinction” is a tricky theoretical effort. There has to be sufficient usable DNA from the extinct creature. That DNA has to be able to be spliced into living creatures. Eventually a viable fetus has to be placed in a surrogate. Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are the closet living relative to the extinct woolly mammoth.
An intermediate step is the woolly mouse, created by Colossal Biosciences. The mouse is being called “colossal” perhaps in the sense of jumbo shrimp. According to Newsweek:
“The team at genetics and biotech firm Colossal Biosciences have imbued rodents with thicker, woolly coats, golden fur and other cold-climate adaptations, all of which are key characteristics of the iconic woolly mammoth.
“The Colossal Woolly Mouse marks a watershed moment in our de-extinction mission,” said Colossal Biosciences co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm.
“This success brings us a step closer to our goal of bringing back the woolly mammoth.””
How?
“In particular, the team focused their attention on a suite of genes in which woolly mammoths exhibit fixed differences when compared with Asian elephants, their close cousins.
They then narrowed down their list to 10 genes that play a role in hair properties (including color, length, texture and thickness) and lipid metabolism—and are compatible with mice.”
The painstaking work is typical of that needed to return animals from the grave. Worldwide, efforts are afoot to resurrect close copies of a number of creatures, including dodo birds and passenger pigeons. Among the more challenging projects is an effort to return to the Earth the recently extinct Tasmanian Tiger or Thylacine. Ironically, although that marsupial predator probably went extinct in the 1930’s resurrection challenges are greater than with mammoths. An abundance of deep frozen mammoths provides great amounts of usable DNA. Not so with the thylacine, as quality DNA sources are limited, although breakthroughs are occurring.
One caution. The resurrected creatures will be very close to the extinct model, but they will not be exact clones as a result of the genetic splicing and use of surrogates.
De-extinction has attracted interest in many corners. One is the American Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA. Although there is no direct proof the agency is thought to be interested in the technology involved. A funding source allegedly used by the agency has helped fund Colossal Biosciences efforts toward woolly mammoth resurrection.
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