Animals on ice
Japanese researchers have perfected the ability to clone animals that have been frozen. The researchers successfully cloned adult mice after they had been frozen for 16 years.
The hope is to be able to clone extinct species such as the dodo or even a mammoth. The cloning of the Woolly Mammoth from carcasses found frozen in Siberia could be possible.
The biggest difficulty faced by researchers is that the DNA from these creatures could be far too fragmented. This is the problem faced by Australian researchers attempting to resurrect the Tasmanian tiger.
The Frozen Ark Project run by the Zoological Society of London contains cells from extinct and endangered animals. The current research could one day allow mankind to bring these species back from the dead.
Michael Reed
