It’s not quite on the scale of Jurassic Park, but Japanese researchers claim that they have successfully produced clones of mice that have been frozen for 16 years.
Will this research help revive extinct animals like the woolly mammoth or saber-toothed tiger?
The findings of this fascinating study were published this week in the journal Proceedings Of The National Academy of Sciences. So without further ado, here’s how they brought the long dead mice back to life.
Whoever Would Have Thought a Mouse’s Brain Cells Would Be So Useful?
Lead researcher Teruhiko Wakayama and his team accomplished their soon to be famous study by injecting DNA from the brain cells of the freezer-burned mice into empty mice eggs. From these embryos they extracted stem cells which they used to produce more embryos. Finally, they used all of this genetic material to produce more eggs which were then implanted into live female mice.
And so the mice were born from long dead members of their species!
The researchers also conducted an experiment where they successfully created new mice by injecting dead sperm into mice eggs… (sounds gross, right? The things we do for science).
Great! So When Will Pet Woolly Mammoths Be on the Market?
Hold off there, buddy. Even though this study gives us hope to revive extinct species, it would also mean we’d have to find them frozen somewhere. Oh wait, Reuters is reporting that a baby woolly mammoth was found frozen last year in the Arctic by Russian scientists. So we might be able to get brain cells, but the eggs might still be a problem. And a live animal to serve as surrogate mother. Not to mention that woolly mammoths are a tad bigger than mice, and we generally have experimented little with them.
Ok, we haven’t experimented with them at all.
And who knows if we’d want to have them around. Bad smells, perhaps? On the other hand, maybe passenger pigeons would be nice to have back though. But I’m not sure they were known for flying into ice too often.
Forget Woolly Mammoths! Can We Save Current Endangered Species?
Perhaps the more exciting application of this research would be the possibility of preserving and then cloning endangered species in the future if needed. While I think it’s clearly best to continue our attempts to stop species from going extinct through other conservation methods, I’d be happy to know that we have a backup plan that might work.
I also wonder how many species would go extinct naturally? Are we thus toying with nature’s plan? So many animals are close to extinction today because of human influences. This would probably make it challenging, if not impossible, to know when it’s actually not our fault.
There are definitely some ethical issues at play when it comes to cloning, but I’ll leave it that. Who wants to be the buzz killer for some cool research that is a sure fire conversation starter?
To read the study in its entirety, you can currently do so for free by clicking here.
Photo Credit: rpongsaj on Flickr under a Creative Commons license
It seems a cool research. However, with the reviving of extinct animals come the reviving of extinct bacterias, viruses, and diseases.
I think -even though is exciting all the good potential for conservation of this work- This type of findings are very controversial and dangerous if all the factors (ecological, social, etc) and consequences are not considered.
I did not read the article, but I hope that these scientist also think on the consequences of such amazing discovery.
Bringing back already extinct animals obviously raises some ethical questions. Keeping samples on hand for currently endangered species I can see the benefit of, but raising Mammoths from the dead? Kinda creepy.
As wonderful of an achievement as this sounds, it is counter-intuitive. Species have become extinct throughout the course of the history of this planet (and likely others), because they were too weak to survive. They did not possess the traits that made them competitive enough in their environment to propagate. Through billions of years, life forms lived, changed, died, and reproduced. Those who are here today deserve to be here because they have the traits that allow them some measure of longevity and fecundity despite the challenges of the environment. So to bring back an extinct species sure sounds swell, but only if we are bringing back species which were destroyed by the careless actions of humans. Those which fell away due to nature (although we could arguably be considered part of the natural equation, and animals who adapt and survive despite us are the ones who should propagate) should be allowed to cease to exist. Those different iterations of life are not plausible. They are the dead ends of ineffective DNA. Our focus should be on advancing our own species and trying to maintain a balance in nature so we do not destroy any other species through recklessness.
grrrrr. i am a grade one english teacher and not one of my students spell the word ‘woolly’ “wooly”. you type into google “woolly” you will get answers about the woolly mammoth!
Dear concerned,
I guess now we know how well I would do now on a show like “Are You Smarter Than a 1st Grader?” I have corrected the spelling of woolly mammoth. Thanks!
Of Mice and Men and Mastadons… Oh my! Although we may banter back and forth on the ethical and financial pros and cons of this kind of research, I must admit that it provides me, as a curious person, with something of interest and, I admit, amusement to ponder other than the constant grind of politics and world affairs. It’s another one of those “hope” elements in our society, where we can envision expanding such research toward cures and assistance in battling some of the conditions and diseases which currently cause much sorrow and devastation among us and our fellow species. It also highlights again that working toward a planet where varied species can thrive is a major and pressing goal.
We desperately need cures for cancers, diabetes, AIDS, and even the common flu! Mankind needs understanding of the aggressive side of personalities and seeks to remedy them with war, not a great way! People go hungry and cold every day in the world. Spend time and money on relevant things! If you restore a Wolly Mammoth, you must feed and care for it! Look after human orphans first! Resolve the problems of Darfur! Stop American Capitalists from raping the worlds resources! Find the ultimate tranquilizer for humanity! But, restoring ancient rats? I don’t understand, I just don’t understand.
It would be great to preserve some of the endangered species of today, but going back into yesterday to dig up some old animals and make a real life Jurassic Park or Ice Age movie isn’t going to help anything.
It is great work.I like such amazing researches.But will it not be interfering in nature?But how about the organisms produced?Are they the fittest?(According to Darwin’s theory) will they survive for along time?Life ,death and How will be the life after death?