Scientists are on the verge of resurrecting the woolly mammoth and thus have apparently proved that not everyone in the world has seen Jurassic Park.
A woolly mammoth is just a hop, skip, and a jump to a dinosaur, if you ask this writer, which no one did, but I have a digital pen and paper, so too bad, so sad.
The folks at US genetics firm Colossal Biosciences have funneled USD$60 million (AUD$85.2 million, £48.7 million) in funding to push for a 'de-extinction' of the giant elephant.
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And they reckon that breakthrough is only about four years away.
The woolly mammoth’s DNA is a 99.6 per cent match to today's Asian elephant, which leads the bioscience firm to believe it’s edging closer to cracking the genetic code to start bringing some of these ancient creatures back from the dead.
While 'in the minds of many, this creature is gone forever', the company said the woolly mammoth lives on in the dreams of the clever cookies that make up the Colossal team.
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"We’re already in the process of the de-extinction of the woolly mammoth," Colossal said in a statement.
"Our teams have collected viable DNA samples and are editing the genes that will allow this wonderful megafauna to once again thunder through the Arctic."
Colossal executive advisory board member Kenneth J. Lacovara added that even though the woolly mammoth seems like an ancient beast (even though they went extinct a lengthy four millennia ago), they also lived in a time in history that saw written stories, the Great Pyramids, and brewed beer.
"That’s not some ancient Jurassic landscape—that’s this world, and they belong in it. When we lost them, and other recently extinct creatures, we forfeited the ecosystem services they provided," Dr Lacovara said.
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"By bringing them back, we could help restore a world tipped out of balance by us humans.
The paleontologist added: "We have a chance now to begin to reverse the tide of destruction and to set ourselves on a pathway towards a renewed, regenerative world."
So, scientists believe that re-introducing a new-yet-old creature into the ecosystem could potentially save it.
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With the power of gene editing, Colossal scientists will eventually create an embryo of the long lost creature and place it inside an African elephant for gestation.
When that elephant gives birth, the world will have its first woolly mammoth in thousands of years.
Impressive stuff.
Colossal's eventual goal is to then re-populate parts of the Arctic with the brand spanking new woolly mammoth, before moving on to revive the Tasmanian Devil and the Dodo bird.
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After that, who knows? Dinosaurs? Watch this space, we guess. And try not to panic.
Topics: Science, US News, News, Technology