Someday soon, it may be possible to see woolly mammoth's roving Siberia once again, according to an article in The New York Times. Scientists from Pennsylvania State University believe that they could regenerate a mammoth for as little as $10 million.
The team of scientists plan to continue working out the complete DNA of the woolly mammoth, and then compare it with the DNA of its nearest living relative, the elephant, which differs in at least 400,000 or more sites on the genome. They believe that they can then modify an elephants egg to match a woolly mammoths DNA and incubate the egg, resulting in a live modern-day mammoth.
The scientists believe they can regenerate other species as well, providing that hair, horn, hooves, fur, or feathers is available, and that the animal went extinct less than 60,000 years ago, the longest DNA exists.
Interestingly, among the animals that are possible candidates for regeneration, like the woolly mammoth is the neanderthal. This, of course, prompts ethical questions (I find it unusual that the article addresses no ethical questions for regenerating a woolly mammoth... I know it hasn't been that long since Jurassic Park).
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