2023-10-03 02:20:25
If we look at the history of the earth, we can see that many species have become extinct and disappeared. De-extinction is research that aims to bring back many of these species.
Mammoths are huge creatures that disappeared in prehistoric times. Standing up to 13 feet tall and weighing up to 8000 kg, they belong to the elephant family with huge tusks and trunks. They were the dominant species of the Pleistocene, which began twenty-five years ago and ended 11,000 years ago, on every continent except Australia and South America. But the most famous of these giants are the woolly mammoths found in Siberia and other arctic regions. Mammoths have become characters in many novels and films including the Ice Age series.
Mammoths later became extinct and were wiped off the face of the earth. Many reasons are given for their extinction, such as food shortages, climate change, and over-hunting by humans. The world’s last mammoths were found on Wrangel Island, which shares a coast with the Arctic Ocean in Russia.
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4,000 years ago, the mammoth era came to an end when they also died out. The research to bring mammoths back to earth is active. It is funded by a start-up named Colossal. The research has spent one and a half million US dollars. Their attempt is not to bring back the woolly mammoths of old. Rather, the goal is to recreate hybrids of woolly mammoths and Asian elephants on Earth. Asian elephants and mammoths shared a common ancestor. African elephants do not.
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An intact carcass of a mammoth was found in the frozen ice of Siberia and its genome was isolated. The aim of the scientists is to complete the research by making changes in this genome through CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing. A lot of criticism has been raised against this research. Opponents argue that there are many endangered species on Earth and it is pointless to try to bring back a prehistoric species without trying to save them.
Not just mammoths. Colossal has plans to bring back the dodo birds that once existed in Mauritius and the extinct Tasmanian tigers in Australia. Research for this is in progress.
Quagga were the ancestors of the zebra. Research has been going on in South Africa for decades to bring back these extinct species. The name of this research is Quagga Project.
Content Highlights: De Extinction | Species | Animals
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