The extinct Wholly mammoth which have been extinct around 4,000 years ago could be walking on this planet again, says scientists. A shocking report on The Guardian says that the some scientists are planning the resurrection of this animal using genetic engineering. As per the reports, Professor George Church who is leading this venture, said the Harvard team may be able to create a hybrid embryo featuring mammoth traits into an Asian elephant within two years. However, it is to be explained that any serious attempts to revive this animal will take a while, the scientists are now working on the creating embryos of this beast.
“Our aim is to produce a hybrid elephant-mammoth embryo,” said Prof George Church. “Actually, it would be more like an elephant with a number of mammoth traits. We’re not there yet, but it could happen in a couple of years.”
The creature, partly-elephant, will have different features such as small ears, subcutaneous fat, shaggy hair and cold-adapted blood. Powerful gene-editing tools, Crispr, will be used for slicing the mammoth genes into the elephant DNA. The woolly mammoth lived in regions of Europe, Asia, Africa and North America regions during the last Ice Age. The reasons for their extinction remains unclear, though human hunting and changing climate are largely believed to be the primary reasons.
