Ancient Beasts Including Woolly Mammoth And Dodo Could Be Revived, Thanks To DNA Splicing

Despite sounding like the plot of a science fiction movies, this is believed and proved by a number of scientists. They would require totally untouched DNA to clone an animal, leading to some prehistoric beings are more probably to be brought back to life than others.

Woolly Mammoth

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Well-preserved samples discovered in permafrost in Siberia enabled the creature’s genome to be sequenced. A new gene-editing enterprise named Colossal has been formed by Entrepreneur Ben Lamm and Harvard geneticist George Church, intending to resurrect the giant creature.
This may consist of splicing the DNA of the wooly mammoth with that of a modern Asian elephant, and then forming an embryo able to be grown in an artificial womb of a surrogate elephant. The outcome would be a hybrid-woolly mammoth, able to retain all the fuzzy aspects of the ancient animal.
The scientist team revealed in an interview that a “herd” of mammoth calves could be revived as early as 2027. Prof Church said: “Our goal is to make a cold-resistant elephant, but it is going to look and behave like a mammoth.
“Not because we are trying to trick anybody, but because we want something that is functionally equivalent to the mammoth, that will enjoy its time at -40C, and do all the things that elephants and mammoths do.”

Dodo

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Scientists still need to find enough dodo DNA to bring one back

Believed to be the most famous extinct animal, the dodo always caused scientists to grasp any opportunities to bring it back. It became extinct in the 1600s due to over hunting and invasive species. However, scientists still need to find enough DNA of the creature should they want to revive it. A group of experts are already discussing the idea, including wildlife conservation organization Revive & Restore.

Woolly Rhinoceros

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Woolly rhinos could potentially be 'resurrected' one day

Scientists believe that the animal became extinct 10,000 years ago. Exceptionally preserved samples of the creature, similar to those of mammoths, have been discovered in Arctic permafrost. And its DNA had been successfully sequenced, leading to the probability to revive the ancient wooly rhino, in the same manner as a mammoth.

Ground Sloth

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Huge ground sloth once roamed the Earth

Giant ground sloths roamed the planet’s surface millennia ago. Their DNA has been retrieved from untouched hair remnants, but there’s a huge problem considering finding a surrogate mother. Present-day sloths are too small to birth a clone of ancient ground sloths, so this might not be possible until a suitable artificial womb is created.

Saber-Toothed Cats

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These big fierce cats have some holes in their genome

There's not a lot of saber-tooth cat DNA around but some preserved specimens of the creatures have been found. These fierce cats are probably further off being resurrected than the woolly mammoth or rhino are due to issues with finding suitable surrogates and a lack of natural habitat to let the cats roam. However, the resurrection could be possible with future research and once more genome gaps are filled in.