Scientists at Harvard University are making significant strides in the plan to genetically engineer a modern woolly mammoth, the ice age giant that went extinct about 4,000 years ago, CNN reported.
The objective of the research headed by Harvard University geneticist George Church, is to create an elephant-mammoth hybrid that mirrors its extinct ancestor. This beast, if released in adequate numbers into its natural habitat, could restore the delicate Arctic tundra ecosystem.
A significant advancement was disclosed in this project by Colossal Biosciences, co-founded by Church and entrepreneur Ben Lamm. Reflecting on the progress Church stated, "We had made a momentous step forward."
The team, despite challenges like creating an artificial womb adept at gestating a baby elephant, has achieved a groundbreaking feat. Church and Eriona Hysolli, Colossal’s head of biological sciences, has successfully reprogrammed cells from an Asian elephant into an embryonic state, marking the first derivation of stem cells from elephant cells.
Stressing the versatility of these induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), Hysolli highlighted their prospect of renewing indefinitely and turning into any cell type. These cells open the possibility of refining and modelling genetic changes required to provide an Asian elephant with features like a woolly coat, insulating fat, and smaller ears, which are necessary for surviving in the Arctic.
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