VI
EN
Dr. George Church, a biologist at Harvard Medical School, led a team of researchers to establish Colossal, a company aiming to revive the woolly mammoth using gene manipulation techniques on Asian elephants. With an initial investment of $15 million, the scientists will support research at Dr. Church's lab and conduct experiments at their own laboratories in Boston and Dallas.
Colossal will use CRISPR gene editing technology for this project. Naturally, their goal isn't to clone mammoths using DNA taken from the remains of mammoths found in permafrost, but rather to integrate mammoth DNA into the genome of Asian elephants for crossbreeding. This would give them thicker fur and fat, making them more resistant to herpes viruses and more resilient to the Arctic climate.
Researchers hope that in the next few years, they will create embryos of baby elephants that resemble mammoths, and eventually create a population of these animals and return them to where they lived more than 4,000 years ago.
According to Colossal's research, Asian elephants and woolly mammoths share 99.6% of their DNA structure.
Currently, the Asian elephant is one of the endangered species and is the subject of many conservation policies. The mammoth revival project is hoped to create a new home for the elephant species, a hybrid between mammoths and Asian elephants – vast areas with minimal human intervention such as northern Canada, Alaska, and Siberia.
This idea first came to public attention in 2013, when Dr. Church presented a brief summary at a National Geographic Society conference. At the time, researchers were learning how to reconstruct the genomes of extinct species, based on DNA fragments taken from fossils. They could identify genetic differences between ancient animals and their modern relatives, and thus find ways to intervene to modify the DNA in these species.
A mammoth model is on display at a museum in France.
In addition to scientific explanations, Dr. Church also explained that reviving mammoths could offer a promising direction for Earth in the face of climate change and global warming. Today, the tundra of Siberia and North America—where these animals once lived—is warming rapidly and releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide.
Russian ecologists have released bison and other animals into a Siberian reserve hoping to transform the tundra back into grassland. However, mammoths can accomplish this faster than other animals. Restored grasslands will prevent soil melting and erosion, help retain carbon dioxide, and, most importantly, cool the ecosystem, thereby reducing methane emissions deep within permafrost – one of the causes of global warming.
The Lyuba baby mammoth fossil, dating back 42,000 years, was discovered in a thick layer of ice in the Yuribei River in Siberia (Russia) in 2007.
Colossal Company faced numerous challenges with its project to bring mammoths back to Earth. One obstacle was the lack of an artificial uterus capable of nurturing a 90 kg mammoth fetus throughout its nearly two-year gestation period. Furthermore, they encountered skepticism regarding the feasibility and ethical implications of the project. Many opposed it, doubting that reviving mammoths would make the Earth a better place.
Conversely, many people have supported Colossal because of the goals they bring to the threatened ecosystem in the Arctic in particular and the planet in general. If the project goes smoothly, mammoths could return to Earth in at least six years.
