In the movie "Jurassic Park", humans successfully resurrected extinct dinosaurs and staged a story of dinosaurs hunting down humans. But the movie-only plot may be about to become a reality, as an American company has raised $60 million to revive the mammoth. Is it a new hoax for extinct mammoths that can be revived, or is there really a scientific basis?
On March 9, 2022, a U.S. company called Breakthrough Biosciences and Genetic Engineering ("Colossal") announced that it had oversized its $60 million Series A funding round. The company hopes to use the science and technology it has now to protect extinct species.
So what is the origin of this Colossal company, and why do you have the courage to say that it can resurrect extinct animals? Don't you say! Because the "godfather of contemporary genomics" George Church is also in this company. They really have this ability. George Church is a professor of genetics at Harvard University and director of the Center for Genomic Research at Harvard Medical School, where he also founded the first company to provide complete genome sequences to individual users.
George Church
Their first target, however, was not to target the animals that had gone extinct in recent years, but to prioritize the resurrection of the "prehistoric behemoth" mammoth. Mammoths, also known as mammoths, were once one of the largest elephants in the world, one of the largest mammals that have ever survived on land, and the largest mammoth can weigh up to 12 tons. Their biggest feature is the fangs that grow on the sides of the nose, which are much longer than those of modern elephants.
Imaginary map of a mammoth
How do I resurrect an extinct animal?
Although mammoths once lived with their ancestors compared to dinosaurs and did not become extinct until 4,000 years ago, it is not far from modern grounds, but there is still great suffering to revive this behemoth. So, what is the Colossal company's way to revive a mammoth that has been extinct for so long?
Anyone with a modicum of biological knowledge knows it. Mammalian genetic information is stored in DNA. As long as the mammoth's DNA is available, it is not impossible to resurrect it.
The simplest is to use cloning technology directly, because the cell contains all the DNA needed for a species to grow, so cloning is the use of a single cell division and differentiation, so that it develops into an individual technology.
The cloned sheep Dolly is a very successful example. After the sheep's cells are technically processed, the cells are injected into the uterus of the surrogate sheep. Dolly was born. So as long as you get the cells, you can try to clone them.
Schematic diagram of dolly cloning process
And this technology has taken the first step in cloning extinct animals. In 2003, Spanish and French scientists resurrected an extinct Pyrenees goat in a similar way to Clondol.'s. After the death of the last Pyrenees goat, scientists used some of its active cells in an attempt to clone the species.
The scientists implanted egg cells into the wombs of 57 ewes, but few live embryos were produced, and only the last one remained in the ewes that did not miscarry. On July 30, 2003, scientists were forced to perform a caesarean section on the ewe, but as soon as the little creature left the mother, it immediately developed symptoms of breathing difficulties, and it was only 10 minutes before it died. After the autopsy, it was found that it was congenitally deformed in the lungs and could not breathe at all.
Although no descendants of the Pyrenees wild goats were born. But this method also proves that as long as there are cells of extinct animals, it is technically feasible to resurrect extinct animals.
With technological advances, the use of cloning to save endangered animals has finally succeeded. On December 10, 2020, scientists in the United States successfully cloned the species using the cells of a black-footed ferret named Willa, with a similar technical route to that of the cloned sheep Dolly. The nucleus of the cell is first extracted, and then the nucleus is moved into the egg cell with the nucleus removed, a new cell is formed, and then it is stimulated by an electric current, allowing it to divide and differentiate, and then grows and develops in the surrogate mother and is born smoothly. All is well in good physical condition at the moment.
In this way, resurrecting mammoths from the perspective of cloning technology is no longer a fantasy, but resurrecting mammoths in this way has encountered other difficulties! cell! Still need to be active? Mammoth's? Anyway, the fossils certainly don't work. None of these cells are active, so they have to find another way.
That would have to be done with genetic engineering. This gene, which was first found in the mammoth fossil, reconstructs the mammoth's genome. However, because of the age. The mammoth's genome is likely to be incomplete. However, we can find the next relatives of mammoths according to the theory of evolution, and use the genomes of close relatives to complete the genomes of mammoths. In the movie "Jurassic Park", the genome of the prehistoric mosquito was used to complete the genome of the dinosaur. Only then did the feat of resurrecting dinosaurs be realized. Once the mammoth genome has been completed, it may be possible to use genetic engineering to revive this prehistoric behemoth.
What are the difficulties in reviving mammoths?
But. At present, there are many difficulties in this plan, whether it is technical, ecological, or ethical.
First, it is not safe to use close relatives to make up for the mammoth's mutilated genome. Because you can't be sure if the mammoth's mutilated genome is exactly the same as its close relatives. If it's the same, everyone rejoices. Well this is indeed a mammoth of 100% ancestry. But the truth is that almost all of the mutilated genomes happen to be identical to mammoth's close relatives.
And genes are sloppy. For example, a change in a base pair on human genes can lead to genetic diseases that have a huge impact on normal human life. You don't say part of the genome is missing. There could be thousands of genes up there. The genetic disease mentioned above affects the normal life of human beings, then at least it can still live, or it is not a person! But if so many genes have changed, whether they can survive is really a big problem.
Second, even if you get the mammoth genome. And successfully allowed the mammoth cells to divide into embryos. What to do with these embryos is another question. Dolly, the cloned sheep mentioned above, is very easy to handle because there are individual uteruses of the same species for her to develop. Black-footed ferrets, although endangered, can also find pregnant females. Even the extinct Pyrenees wild goats can find closely related species.
But even though they were so close, the lamb only lived for ten minutes. This cannot be ruled out of the problem of environmental conditions in the conceived uterus. What about mammoths? Modern elephants are related to mammoths. But whether the womb of a modern elephant can be used to conceive a mammoth embryo is not guaranteed. And the size of the mammoth baby is definitely much larger than the size of the modern elephant baby. Will the conceived mother elephant also be at risk? So at the same time as the cloning plan, there is also an artificial uterus plan, otherwise even if the mammoth genome is restored, it will hit a wall in the surrogacy process.
Third, let's assume that the previous problems are solved. But cloned mammoths are all the same genome, which is not bad, if it is to breed offspring, it is all "close relatives married". Could it be that researchers have to keep cloning mammoths?
Fourth, can the cloned mammoth adapt to the current living environment? Mammoths live in the Ice Age! Isn't this an Ice Age? Where are mammoths inhabiting? Siberia?
And even if there are areas suitable for mammoths to survive. Can mammoths be integrated into the current ecological environment? If you can't integrate, isn't that a proper biological invasion? The biological invasion made by a few fish has stirred up the Great Lakes of the United States. This is a mammoth with a maximum weight of 12 tons. Or is it true that the earth's ecosystems have not been destroyed enough by humans? Find a heavyweight player to add to the mess?
Fifth, there is no killing without buying and selling. Although there are no living mammoths now, illegal activities have not stopped. Today, Yakutia's vast permafrost-covered grounds are buried with the frozen remains of countless mammoths. Roughly estimated, there are 550,000 tons of mammoth ivory. In China, mammoth ivory can sell for $1,000/kg, which means that the "inventory" of mammoth ivory in Yakutia alone exceeds $500 billion, which is an unprecedented big business and big business opportunity! And now to resurrect the mammoth? Home delivery? Takeaway can not be so good to deliver well!
Driven by profits, some people are desperate to take risks and illegally sell ivory
So even if there is technical support for the resurrection of extinct animals such as mammoths. We also have to think twice. Does it really make sense to revive them? I hope that the final out-of-control scene of the movie "Jurassic Park" will not be staged in reality. Moreover, the resurrection of extinct animals is only our last resort. We still have to protect these beings as much as possible before they go extinct! Instead of going to make amends, at that time, it may really be too late.