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Palaeontologists are piecing together the complete genome species of long-dead species such as the woolly mammoth and the Neanderthals in an effort to bring them back to life, much like billionaire John Hammond resurrected the extinct dinosaurs in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park.
A team led by Stephan Schuster and Webb Miller at Pennsylvania State University, US, and Tom Gilbert at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, is working on the genome of woolly mammoths preserved in the Siberian permafrost.
Scientists have already deciphered the complete gene sequences – or genomes – for many living species, including humans, dogs, and mice. However, they are divided over how they should do it in the case of long extinct species, and whether it's even feasible.
Max Planck researcher Svante Paabo, who together with colleagues, is aiming to assemble a Neanderthal genome from bones preserved in arid caves, in a paper appearing in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) said only certain types of errors appeared in ancient DNA.
As such, its not that difficult to piece together much of the original genetic instructions. However, he is unsure whether the animals can be resurrected completely. "Resurrecting these animals is for the most part science fiction," said Paabo.
[What could possibly go wrong?]
Source
A team led by Stephan Schuster and Webb Miller at Pennsylvania State University, US, and Tom Gilbert at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, is working on the genome of woolly mammoths preserved in the Siberian permafrost.
Scientists have already deciphered the complete gene sequences – or genomes – for many living species, including humans, dogs, and mice. However, they are divided over how they should do it in the case of long extinct species, and whether it's even feasible.
Max Planck researcher Svante Paabo, who together with colleagues, is aiming to assemble a Neanderthal genome from bones preserved in arid caves, in a paper appearing in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) said only certain types of errors appeared in ancient DNA.
As such, its not that difficult to piece together much of the original genetic instructions. However, he is unsure whether the animals can be resurrected completely. "Resurrecting these animals is for the most part science fiction," said Paabo.
[What could possibly go wrong?]
Source
