Researchers aim to resurrect mammoth in five years

[redhawk23]

It's impossible because we lack a mammoth uterus to implant the embryo into and we'd be injecting the mammoth nucleus into a non-mammoth oocyte; at best, we'd get a mammoth hybrid with whatever species donated the denucleated egg cell, but not a 'real' mammoth.

not to mention the fact that even if we clone a full mammoth, it would not act like one, since it would be raised and socialized by Elephants and people. Behaviiorly we would learn very little.

 

[Paroxysm]

Yes, rather than trying to resurrect animals that have been extinct for millions of years, wouldn't the funding be better spent trying to preserve animals that are going extinct now?

In Canada alone we have lost:

Dawson's Caribou, Sea Mink, Great Auk, Labrador Duck, Passenger Pigeon, Deepwater Cisco, Longjaw Cisco, Banff Longnose Dace, Blue Walleye

We are in imminent danger of losing:

Mammals: Peary Caribou (Banks Island and High Arctic population), Eastern Cougar, Vancouver Island Marmot, Sea Otter, Bowhead Whale, Right Whale, Beluga Whale (St. Lawrence River, Ungava Bay and Southeast Baffin Island-Cumberland Sound populations), Wolverine (Eastern population).
Birds: Whooping Crane, Eskimo Curlew, Northern Bobwhite, Harlequin Duck (Eastern population), Anatum Peregrine Falcon, Acadian Flycatcher, Spotted Owl, Mountain Plover, Piping Plover, King Rail, Loggerhead Shrike (Eastern population), Henslow's Sparrow, Sage Thrasher, Kirtland's Warbler.
Amphibians: Blanchard's Cricket Frog.
Reptiles: Blue Racer Snake, Lake Erie Water Snake, Leatherback Turtle.
Fish: Salish Sucker, Aurora Trout, Acadian Whitefish.

Want to be scared? Look at the worldwide list of Endangered Species:

http://www.earthsendangered.com/list_html.asp

What does this have to do with Canada? The team of scientists are from JAPAN. The Japanese don't have to fund our conservation projects.

 

[bored]

I think the point she's making is that there are species it would make more sense to use this sort of process on, with fauna in Canada as an example.

 

[Paroxysm]

Well she needs to realize that the process hasn't even been perfected yet. So hold your horses.

 

[Kirmit]

Weren't Mammoths larger than elephants? That would cause problems for the implanted elephant I imagine.

 

[Paroxysm]

I'm pretty sure the Japanese have covered all their bases. They know more about genetic engineering than any of us.

 

[ObakeTora]

Mammoth burgers!

 

[Art_of_Crime]

One step closer to a real life Jurassic park, and one big pile of cash that should be spent looking for a cure for cancer or AIDS.

 

[SuperFerret]

Nope. You need to realize that curing those diseases are funded well, and that this money probably wouldn't have gone that way anyway.

 

[Art_of_Crime]

fine. it is still a lot of money spent on something fairly useless. Mammoths were not killed off like a lot of the species we have driven into extinction. This is just scientific showing off.

 

[terry78]

Yeah, they ain't curing AIDS or cancer anytime soon, as Chris Rock said, there's too much money in it.

 

[DareDemon]

From what I understand of the article, it's going to have both mammoth of elephant genes, so how will they be sure that what comes out is more mammoth than elephant?

It could theoretically just be, for all intents and purposes, a normal elephant, depending on which side it favors.

I think it's supposed to be the same idea as a surrogate. The elephant holds the growing embryo but gives no DNA

 

[DareDemon]

Nope. You need to realize that curing those diseases are funded well, and that this money probably wouldn't have gone that way anyway.

I hate it when people say that. Hey kids, don't buy an xbox. Give the money to AIDs research instead. You're not allowed to do what you want with your money.

Can't always just throw money at something until it goes away. Our technology and knowledge needs to increase before diseases can be cured.

 

[SuperFerret]

Aside from the emotional stuff, I don't see what's so urgent about curing these very manageable diseases anyway. Why open the door for less manageable diseases?

 

[Wolfwood]

Heh, heard this on the radio today, thought it was kind of funny: "It's a good thing we're bringing back animals from the dead. I'm pretty sure Ted Nugent has run out of things to kill."

 

[Poetic Chaos]

By using the complete DNA of an elephant to fill in the holes to complete the strand...Bingo, mammoth DNA.

 

[Hurm...]

I always love reading about stuff like this...I'm just not sure it's a good idea. If recreating the Mammoth is successful, then what?

We will recreate the tiger once it is gone.

 

[DareDemon]

The way I see it is they can try to clone a mammoth now, or they could wait until current animals are extinct before learning how to recreate species. Which do you think would be a better idea?

 

[SuperFerret]

How about not bringing failed experiments back to life?

 

[DareDemon]

Are you referring to the Mammoth as God's failed experiment? I don't know if God would really care if we cloned a dead animal. Humans made dogs, you know. Never see anyone complain about that.

 

[SuperFerret]

I'm referring to extinction as failed experiments. We're all trying to survive in an ever-changing world, and those that fail to adapt, die off. Mammoths died off, as did the dinosaurs and the dodo. They failed to adapt to a change in their world.

 

[raybia]

I think I can do it in 3 years.

 

[DareDemon]

Oh. Survival of the fittest. I wouldn't call that an experiment, maybe an observational study. lulz.

I think humans are almost to the point where rewilding would make the world a more beautiful place and I'm sure these species will not "take our place" or otherwise hurt us in any way.

 

[SuperFerret]

Who's saying that they'll take our place? And why do we need to "rewild" the world? It's a pretty beautiful place as is, and no amount of changing the number of species on it will enhance or decrease that.

 

[DareDemon]

I know you never said they'd take over the world, I was just king thoughts on how it wouldn't hurt. Just in the last 100 years, lots of species have gone extinct. I promise you, not only will species continue to go extinct, but the rate will increase too. Rewilding will eventually be needed.