RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Politics and Current Events Researchers Mull Cloning Mammoths

Japanese scientists seeking to clone prehistoric wooly mammoths were preparing their first frozen DNA samples Tuesday in bid to bring the beasts back to life.

Remnants of what scientists think is from mammoth bone marrow, muscle and skin were unearthed last August in the Siberian tundra where they had been preserved in ice for thousands of years.

Researchers at the Gifu Science and Technology Center and Kinki University want to use the genetic material encased within the cells to clone a wooly mammoth, according to Akira Irytani, a scientist at Kinki University in western Japan.

But first, they must determine whether the five specimens brought from Russia on Tuesday are really from mammoths. If so, they must then decide whether the DNA locked inside is well enough preserved for cloning to proceed.

After that, it could take years to actually produce an animal.

``There are many different problems to overcome,'' the Gifu Center's Hideyoshi Ichibashi said. ``I think we can move ahead only one step at a time.''

Kinki University scientists, joined with veterinary experts from Kagoshima University in southern Japan, have searched for mammoth DNA samples since 1997 in Siberia.

Kinki University's Irytani was hopeful about the DNA samples, estimated at 20,000 years old, saying they had been well preserved well below zero.

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

um...

did anyone see that park movie? wuzzit called... jurassic something....

Billy and the Clonasauris was the movie.

It's not like Mammoths were killed by whalers. They died off due to nature. We should let them go.

We should clone these:

Mammoths?!?

Snuffle-upagus!!!

I'm all for cloning mammoths.....sounds fun. My Penis is a Mammoth.

God damned idiots... fucking biologists. First the lion/tiger hybrids that don't stop growing, now wooly mammoths... they're Mad, I tell you! Mad! Giant animals will conquer the world! Humans will become toejam!

Hmm.... unless they create giant humans too! Then the giant humans can keep the giant animals in check. It's the new evolution! Yes! Excellent!

God creates dinosaurs.
God destroys dinosaurs.
God creates Man.
Man destroys God.
Man creates dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs eat Man.
Woman inheirits the earth.

Loved that movie.

Mammoths might be slightly less destructive, though.

And hey, get 'em to populate in adequate numbers, and you've solved part of the world's food-supply troubles! :lol:

Seriously, think about how much meat must be in one of those things!!!

I better go get some lunch. This post obviously reflects that I haven't eaten in about eighteen hours.

cool. Mammoth rides at the San Diego zoo!

Coming in 2010.

This is an example of scientists trying to do something because they can without fully thinking of the consequences. I'd rather they clone the dodo. At least then if there were adverse effects we could exterminate them again pretty easily.

Come one, its not as if big hairy elephants are going to take over Washington DC, are they?

It'll be cool. I don't expect it before 2020, though.

Actually, they will literally be cool: they'd probably have to house them in very cold environments.

*rimshot*

324-ounce mammoth top sirloin... Okay, off to make a sandwich.

no no. Some theme Park i'm sure is going to open an "Ice Age" attraction based on the CGI cartoon. So tourists little helllspawns could ride on top of whatever that stupid mammoth in the film was called.

Ray Romanos?