Physorg hearkens to the growing thunder of massive, woolly feet as Japanese and Russian researchers declare they’re one step closer to bringing mammoths back:
Teams from the Sakha Republic’s mammoth museum and Japan’s Kinki University will launch fully-fledged joint research next year aiming to recreate the giant mammal, Japan’s Kyodo News reported from Yakutsk, Russia.
By replacing the nuclei of egg cells from an elephant with those taken from the mammoth’s marrow cells, embryos with mammoth DNA can be produced, Kyodo said, citing the researchers.
The scientists will then plant the embryos into elephant wombs for delivery, as the two species are close relatives, the report said.
Reclaiming the steppes. Who needs an opposable thumb when you’ve got a prehensile trunk?