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Cloning of mammoth will be successful in 10 years, predicts head of region earmarked for their home

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18 September 2018

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Woolly mammoths - recreated from cells found in frozen remains buried in the Siberian permafrost - would be born again from an elephant surrogate mother, say experts. 

Yakutia - also called the Sakha Republic - is the largest region in the Russian Federation - and most famous for diamonds. 

But this may change when the extinct woolly beast is cloned back to life. 

Acting head of the region Aisen Nikolaev said that co-operation between Russian, South Korean and Japanese scientists will see this ‘miracle’ happen within a decade. 

'We are actively working with South Korea,’ he said at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok.

‘Thanks to cooperation with Korean and Japanese scientists, in my opinion, this [cloning a mammoth] will happen in the next decade.

The prospect was no longer fantastical, he said.

Aisen Nikolaev

Acting head of the Yakutia (Sakha Republic) Aisen Nikolaev

'Back in 2014, a group of my friends and I proposed a project to create an Ice Age Park with mammoths - everyone laughed then,’

But they’re not laughing now, he said.

‘Today, technology is developing at an explosive pace, and what yesterday seemed to be scientific nonsense, today is an absolutely clear prospect for scientists.

‘I believe that miracles are possible.’

Cloning experiments are already underway on extinct ancient horses and cave lions, scientists in Yakutsk, the regional capital, have said recently. 

Woolly mammoths - recreated from cells found in frozen remains buried in the Siberian permafrost - would be born again from an elephant surrogate mother, say experts. 

Nikolaev said ‘every prerequisite’ now exists to bring back the species which finally died out some 4,000 years ago after a long decline.

Mammoth trunk


Paleogenetic laboratory


Semyon Grigoryev takes samples


Professor Hwang

‘Thanks to cooperation with Korean and Japanese scientists, in my opinion, this [cloning a mammoth] will happen in the next decade.'

‘We just need to take care about a number of moments linked to the search for raw materials,’ he said. 

'We are seeing now that every year brings more and more high quality mammoth remains.’

He said: 'I am certain that with the current speed of development of genetic technologies we will be able to reach some real results in the near future.

‘This, of course, will be a revolution.'

Yakutia already has Pleistocene Park - a privately-run area seeking to recreate the environment as it was when the  mammoths thrived. 

It was unclear is Nikolaev is proposing another Ice Age-style park.

'I am certain that with the current speed of development of genetic technologies we will be able to reach some real results in the near future.

Mammoth museum


Mammoth Yuka


Malolyakhovsky mammoth

Comments (4)

Good luck!!
Matthew Tabone, Malta
16/10/2018 19:36
5
1
all in the name of greed! if there was a god and we were made in his image, what an evil being it would be!

"oh, no, we humans are superior and we've got the right to do anything we want, no matter how much suffering it may cause to other animals -- it's a divine right"
Suzana, Sao Paulo/Brazil
10/10/2018 18:28
2
8
Mannoth and mastadon regeneration both requires and justifies a clinical womb technology. Such a capability has been scientifically & technologically feasible, for a long time. The problem of course is the Pandora's Box it opens. Break the barriers to the artificial womb, and Yakutia will have an extensive ecosystem of Pliestocene animals.



The photos of preserved bodies are so helpful!
Ted Clayton, Forks, WA USA
20/09/2018 00:13
5
4
- Ice age park- in Yakutia? and what will they eat? lick the snow and ice? they for sure have phantasies these guys.
Benedikt MORAK, Moscow
18/09/2018 22:41
3
9
1

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