[eroshik (OP)]

Dr. Raj Jeganathan asked the Naked Scientists:

Hi Dr. Chris,

Yours is newbielink:http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/ [nonactive]. 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?

[Syphered]

This quote from, newbielink:http://www.aussmc.org/mammoth_dna.php [nonactive]

"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