Researchers aim to resurrect mammoth in five years

[FG Lurker]

Researchers aim to resurrect mammoth in five years
AFP, January 17, 2011

[floatr][/floatr]Japanese researchers will launch a project this year to resurrect the long-extinct mammoth by using cloning technology to bring the ancient pachyderm back to life in around five years time, a report said.

The researchers will try to revive the species by obtaining tissue this summer from the carcass of a mammoth preserved in a Russian research laboratory, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

"Preparations to realise this goal have been made," Akira Iritani, leader of the team and a professor emeritus of Kyoto University, told the mass-circulation daily.

(Full Story)

Keeping in mind the lineups to see pandas at zoos here I can't imagine how long the line would be to see a mammoth... Heh, Japan might hit their 20mil tourist target with this alone!

[wuchan]

[BigInJapan]

"If a cloned embryo can be created, we need to discuss, before transplanting it into the womb, how to breed (the mammoth) and whether to display it to the public," Iritani said.

If the experiment does succeed, it will be interesting indeed to see if they do decide to put it on public display.
I'm no dinosaur expert, but I seriously doubt we'll be seeing T-rex and other pals from the Cretaceous period etc. as cloning from fossilized amber might be a tad more difficult than frozen mammoth cells.

FGL - notice anything familiar about this woolly mammoth photo being circulated all over the net?

[oyajikun]

I'm one step closer to realizing my dream of breeding Miniature Poodle with a Velociraptor. I'm sure they will be the must have pet.

[Yokohammer]

The logical extension of this, if you follow a general anime-overdosed J-nerd train of thought, would be to clone subservient "maids" with wildly disproportionate anatomical features. They probably won't display 'em publicly though ...

[FG Lurker]

FGL - notice anything familiar about this woolly mammoth photo being circulated all over the net?

It reminds me of the mammoth model that used to stand near the entrance of the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, but that probably isn't what you were thinking.

While digging around in Google images to see where that photo originated I came across this Far Side strip though:

[BigInJapan]

It reminds me of the mammoth model that used to stand near the entrance of the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, but that probably isn't what you were thinking.

One and the same.
(That photo is an official Corbis image)

[plaid_knight]

would be to clone subservient "maids" with wildly disproportionate anatomical features

I imagine there's already some kind of anti-cloning legislation to prevent that from happening.

[Yokohammer]

I imagine there's already some kind of anti-cloning legislation to prevent that from happening.

That is the problem with cloning: where do you draw the line? The issue is still pretty much up in the air. Some countries ban human cloning, but allow "therapeutic" cloning, for example. And of course, just because something is against the law doesn't mean that people won't do it.

But I was kidding anyway (I thought that would have been obvious). Frankenstein-style experimentation is clearly way off the moral scale (on the other hand, you might want to read up on a certain Dr. Mengele for an idea of the kind of things humans will do if given a chance ... terrifying).

[plaid_knight]

But I was kidding anyway (I thought that would have been obvious). Frankenstein-style experimentation is clearly way off the moral scale (on the other hand, you might want to read up on a certain Dr. Mengele for an idea of the kind of things humans will do if given a chance ... terrifying).

I'm sorry for missing out on the joke, but it can be hard to tell on the 'net.

[FG Lurker]

I'm sorry for missing out on the joke, but it can be hard to tell on the 'net.

The winking smiley was a pretty massive clue.

[maraboutslim]

Whatever happened with the attempt to recreate the Moa? They've only be extinct for a little while so the DNA was supposedly easier to find, and a Japanese scientist (naturally) was planning to resurrect the species, mainly because he wanted to know if they really were metallic blue in color! This was in the news in the late 90s...

[BigInJapan]

They've only be extinct for a little while so the DNA was supposedly easier to find, and a Japanese scientist (naturally) was planning to resurrect the species, mainly because he wanted to know if they really were metallic blue in color!

This comes from the country that spent 20 years gene splicing to come up with a blue rose (just because they could).


[Story]

[Dragonette]

...
I'm no dinosaur expert, but I seriously doubt we'll be seeing T-rex and other pals from the Cretaceous period etc. as cloning from fossilized amber might be a tad more difficult than frozen mammoth cells.

Killjoy!
I was SOO looking forward to a remake of the Great GOJIRA destroying Tokyo without the use of CGI or a custom robot!

A T. Rex wearing minimal makeup could have done the job - it would have been method acting at its greatest.

[Doctor Stop]

"Preparations to realise this goal have been made," Akira Iritani, leader of the team and a professor emeritus of Kyoto University, told the mass-circulation daily.

"Soon we shall finally have real mammoth in our Mammoth Curry!"

[matsuki]

"Soon we shall finally have real mammoth in our Mammoth Curry!"

This was my thought as well...have you ever watched discover channel with Japanese? Everything is kawaii, kowai, or oishii. just wait until mammoth meat becomes the next meat fad. (while the rest of the world looks on in confusion)

[wuchan]

"Soon we shall finally have real mammoth in our Mammoth Curry!"

1: resurrect mammoth in limited numbers
2: slaughter newly endangered species
3: ???????
4: PROFIT

[Russell]

[Yokohammer]

Aren't there already plenty of mammoths in the Japanese Diet? (no, not the food stuff).

No no ... those are "Neanderthals."

[matsuki]

Whatever they are, their heads are stuck so far in the past they belong with the mammoths.

[maraboutslim]

I'm still waiting for the resurrection of the Moa we were promised over ten years ago.

[Greji]

I'm still waiting for the resurrection of the Moa we were promised over ten years ago.

Probably ended up in a Yakitoriya in Harajuku...