Artwork: The early Ice Age, when mammoths roamed the Earth and Man was arising. From Harmsworth History of the World, Volume 1, by Arthur Mee, J.A. Hammerton, & A.D. Innes, M.A. (Carmelite House, London, 1907). Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images.
Some 4,000 years ago the woolly mammoth went extinct, but now a team of Harvard scientists have announced they are on the drink of bringing the creature back from the dead using DNA from specimens frozen in Siberian ice.
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According to The Guardian, the team announced that they are two years away from creating a hybrid embryo that would feature mammoth DNA spliced with an Asian elephant through the powerful gene-editing tool, Crispr. The new creation, described as a “mammophant,” would have mammoth DNA for selected traits including small ears, subcutaneous fat, long shaggy hair, and cold-adapted blood.
Professor George Church explained, “Our aim is to produce a hybrid elephant-mammoth embryo. Actually, it would be more like an elephant with a number of mammoth traits. We’re not there yet, but it could happen in a couple of years.”
The scientists have suggested that the mammophant project, which began in 2015, could help preserve the endangered Asian elephant in an altered form. The embryo would be grown within an artificial womb within a lab rather than implanted into a female Asian elephant to act as a surrogate mother. Scientists estimate it will take another decade of research until they are able to grow the mammophant embryo in this manner.
The moral value of the mammophant project has raised concerns. Matthew Cobb, professor of zoology at the University of Manchester, told The Guardian, “The proposed ‘de-extinction’ of mammoths raises a massive ethical issue—the mammoth was not simply a set of genes, it was a social animal, as is the modern Asian elephant. What will happen when the elephant-mammoth hybrid is born? How will it be greeted by elephants?”
Professor Church believes that the mammophant project can also help fight against global warming, as the new creature could prevent tundra permafrost from melting and releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. “They keep the tundra from thawing by punching through snow and allowing cold air to come in. In the summer they knock down trees and help the grass grow,” Church explained.
Woolly mammoths are believed to have gone extinct in response to a combination of human hunting and climate change. The irony of a potential reversal is in keeping with the brave new world we find ourselves living in today.
Miss Rosen is a journalist covering art, photography, culture, and books. Her byline has appeared in L’Uomo Vogue, Whitewall, Jocks and Nerds, and L’Oeil de la Photographie. Follow her on Twitter @Miss_Rosen.
