With current technology, could we clone a mammoth? Cloning techniques have made significant progress in recent years and at least one well-preserved specimen has been found. But the same freezing process that preserves the bodies of many extinct mammals would also be the undoing of cloning endeavours. Ice destroys cells, puncturing their membranes, bursting them and exposing their contents. Upon thawing, the dead cells would be useless as a basis for cloning.
Until now, the destructive power of ice seemed like an insurmountable obstacle, dashing the prospect of "resurrecting" frozen extinct animals or preserving endangered ones. But a Japanese team have made a technical breakthrough that could both into more realistic visions. They have managed to breed healthy cloned mice from thawed bodies that have been frozen for 16 years. It's quite literally a small start, but an important one.
A typical procedure for cloning is as follows. Take a ...
