Scientists in their remarkable ambitiousness aim to bring back from the dead, the woolly mammoth from extinction employing the use of genetic engineering after upwards of 4,000 years since the species died out.
According to the researchers working on this de-extinction project loosely titled the team could only be just a couple of years away from resurrecting the first mammoth-elephant hybrids and having their embryos developed.
The plan is to splice genes extracted from woolly mammoth remains and infusing them into the embryo of their closest living relative, the Asian elephant.
Lead researcher, George Church told foreign media, "Our aim is to produce a hybrid elephant-mammoth embryo. 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."
In actuality, the first hybrid embryos would not qualify as true woolly mammoths, we have still a long journey to go before we get to see the ancient mammoths that used to dwell in Earths frozen plains.
What the team is aiming to create are Asian elephants that contain some of the distinctive genes of the extinct species.
It would still be an impressive feat if the researchers pull off de-extinction of giant mammoth genes from the dead. The team has already spliced 45 of mammoth genes into elephant cells to prove that the technique works.
Now the researchers are moving towards creating the first hybrid embryo.
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