Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution => Topic started by: eroshik on 13/12/2008 19:34:58

Title: How might completion of the mammoth genome bring mammoths back to life?
Post by: eroshik on 13/12/2008 19:34:58

Dr. Raj Jeganathan asked the Naked Scientists:

Hi Dr. Chris,

Yours is the best podcast on the internet (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/). I enjoy it greatly during my daily walk.

My question is that few days ago it is reported that they have reconstructed the genome of a woolly Mammoth. Does this mean we can bring these extinct animals to life.

I also heard that the DNA of some species are very similar (99%) to the ones they evolved from. Hence can we tweak the DNA of birds to get the DNA of their ancestor, the dinosaur.

What do you think?

Title: How might completion of the mammoth genome bring mammoths back to life?
Post by: Syphered on 26/01/2009 02:54:34

This quote from, http://www.aussmc.org/mammoth_dna.php

"Does this genome sequence mean that in a few years we can bring back the mammoth? - far from it. Just because we know the DNA code of something does not mean we can genetically tinker with it to the extent required to recreate extinct organisms - this kind of progress is still a pipe-dream."
Dr Michael Bunce, Head of the Ancient DNA Laboratory at Murdoch University, Western Australia