In a groundbreaking move, a team of scientists led by George Church from Harvard University has received $15 million in funding to bring the woolly mammoth back to life through genetic engineering. The project, called Colossal, aims to create a hybrid mammoth-elephant that will look and behave like a woolly mammoth. The first calf is expected to be born in 2027.
The woolly mammoth went extinct thousands of years ago, but Church and his team believe they have the DNA, technology, and expertise to bring it back to life. The hybrid mammoth-elephant will be created using preserved genes from the woolly mammoth and cells from the endangered Asian elephant. The genes will be inserted into the elephant’s DNA using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool.
The hybrid mammoth-elephant will have features such as a thick coat of fur and additional layers of fat to help it survive in cold environments. The calf will be carried by a female elephant acting as a surrogate mother. While the hybrid mammoth-elephant will not be an exact replica of the woolly mammoth, it will be very similar in appearance and behavior. Church believes that this project will help address the problem of extinction and could lead to the revival of other extinct species in the future.
