Should we bring back extinct species? An American company has been given $15m to find a way to bring woolly mammoths back to life. The project could have surprising benefits for the climate.
X
Next
‘Woolly mammoths could walk the Earth again’
Should we bring back extinct species? An American company has been given $15m to find a way to bring woolly mammoths back to life. The project could have surprising benefits for the climate.
X
PreviousNext
What's happening?
Over 12,000 years ago, woolly mammoths lived in a huge icy, grassy landscape. They were the biggest animals around. They grew over three metres tall. Their tusks could grow to four metres. Now, they could soon be back.
A team of scientists has announced they have started a new company to bring back woolly mammoths.
Find out more
The company aims to place the mammoths in Siberia, thousands of years after they went extinctA species that no longer has any living members.. The team will edit DNADeoxyribonucleic acid is the material in an organism that carries genetic information. from Asian elephants. They will add genes for wiry hair and thick fat to keep the animals warm in the cold.
The scientists hope the experimentA controlled test to see if an idea is true. could help fight climate changeLong-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Human action is a major cause of climate change.. But not everybody is a fan. Mammoths died out 10,000 years ago when the world was very different. Critics say it is cruel to bring back animals that no longer belong here.
X
Previous
Should we bring back dead species?
No! We should focus on real life. More than 20,000 living species are under threat. We should use science to help them. Spending millions on a scientific experiment is a waste.
Yes! This is not just a scientific experiment. Mammoths could help stop the climate crisis. And, the science could help animals that are still alive today. As the natural world dies around us, this could be just what we need to bring it back!
Keywords
Extinct - A species that no longer has any living members.
DNA - Deoxyribonucleic acid is the material in an organism that carries genetic information.
Experiment - A controlled test to see if an idea is true.
Climate change - Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Human action is a major cause of climate change.
‘Woolly mammoths could walk the Earth again’
Once upon a time: Early humans ate mammoths and used their tusks to make tools. Glossary
Extinct - A species that no longer has any living members.
DNA - Deoxyribonucleic acid is the material in an organism that carries genetic information.
Experiment - A controlled test to see if an idea is true.
Climate change - Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Human action is a major cause of climate change.