Science

Science Continues Its Quest for Real-Life Jurassic Park

Dinosaurs and other extinct creatures have fascinated us and scared us as bones in museums, computer simulations in movies and even life-size replicas on amusement park rides. And scientists are working — and have been for a long time — to bring them back to us like a real-life Jurassic Park.

But don’t get any ideas about dino blood from a mosquito for this one. Scientists have a more reliable vessel for preserving ancient DNA. Hair.

CBS 60 Minutes has an update on the progress of being made to bring extinct animals back to life:

“Just the study of ancient DNA only broke onto the scene 20 years ago or so. The idea that we could harvest DNA from extinct creatures, from fossil bones, learn something about the past,” Sean Carroll, a professor of molecular biology and genetics at the University of Wisconsin, told CBS News Reporter Lesley Stahl.

Carroll says that like so many things in the field of DNA, the progress has been staggering.

Scientists recently discovered that the hair shaft seals DNA inside it like a biological plastic, protecting it, and making hair a rich and plentiful source of genetic information.

What Carroll said is the most important aspect of the DNA is its quality.

It‘s sort of like ’CSI,’ you know? How good is this forensic material? Can you get good DNA information from older and older and older material?

According to 60 minutes, scientists from Penn State were able to sequence almost all of the wooly mammal genome out of just a few clumps of hair.

Science Continues Its Quest for a Real Life Jurassic Park

This baby wooly mammoth was found four years ago in Siberia. Scientists hope they may find a viable cell from Yuba.

In terms of actually taking this DNA and making a T-Rex? The science isn’t quite there yet, but researchers are looking into two options: taking a live relative of the extinct animal and matching its live genome to the extinct, and — more simple — cloning. Cloning is how the actor scientists in the Jurassic Park movies did it.

There are still a couple challenges with cloning. You have to have the full sequence, which 60 minutes reports is almost a reality for the wooly mammoth. And you have to have an intact cell, which is a bit tricker. An intact wooly mammoth cell has yet to be found, but Caroll says is not impossible:

“It could be a skin cell. It could be any particular cell that hopefully has been preserved well enough, stayed frozen for thousands of years and to transfer the nucleus of that cell into, for example an egg of an elephant,” Carroll explained.

Watch the 60 Minutes segment:

The concept of harvesting DNA to restore these extinct animals to life is nothing new. In 2010, the Daily Mail reported scientists finding well-preserved DNA in the egg shells of an extinct bird. In fact, an extinct animal has already been restored to life using preserved DNA: the quagga. The invasive mussel populating the Great Lakes these days was named after the quagga, which was a subspecies of Zebra that went extinct in 1884. In 1983, the quagga was brought back to life using the cells of one of its other Zebra relatives and preserved DNA.

But quaggas were brought back only 100 years after extinction. There are more challenges for animals that are considered 10,000 or more years extinct. Aside from quality of DNA degenerating, cloning poses an issue as related animals become less and less related over time. 60 minutes has more:

“You don’t just clone some cells and then all of a sudden you have a baby. I mean, there’s so many scientific steps along the way, knowing everything from hormones to the proper surrogate to, you know, length of pregnancy,” [Betsy Dresser of the the Audubon Nature Institute] explained. “Because, see, we don’t know how long a woolly mammoth, the gestation period. We can guess, but we don’t know, really.”

. . .

“You know, there are still people who get nervous at the idea of cloning. They think there’s something wrong about it,” Stahl remarked.

“I’ll tell you what, if you have to choose cloning or extinction, I’m gonna choose cloning. But I wanna be darn sure that I know how to do it. And if we don’t do it while we have the animals now to be able to learn how to do it, then we’re not gonna have a choice. It’s not gonna be an option,” Dresser said.

So to keep her options open while she’s mastering interspecies cloning, she’s also putting as many animals as she can on ice, literally.

Dresser is keeping skin samples of thousands of species inside tanks cooled with liquid nitrogen — she expects they could remain viable as cells for at least hundreds of years — in case they are ever needed to prevent extinction of a species or to bring one back.

Comments (46)

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  • Callmekozmo
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 5:13pm

    Yeah, but these scientist where so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they never stoped to think if they should.

    Ooooh Ahhh thats how it always starts, then later there is running, and screaming.

    Report Post »  
  • Whyismynamealwaystaken
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 2:40pm

    Clone Obama so those 2 can fight it out it 2012

    Report Post » Whyismynamealwaystaken  
    • boxy
      Posted on September 7, 2011 at 3:00pm

      *gasp* We might survive 1 we don’t need a second.

      Report Post »  
  • tharpdevenport
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 1:02pm

    It’s only a matter of time before the DNC clones a pack of raptors and sends them after the Republican party.

    Report Post » tharpdevenport  
  • johnj1952
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 12:44pm

    Just what we need dinosaurs, muslims, and crack pot left wing liberals running around. All crying ‘death to america’.

    Report Post » johnj1952  
  • gmoneytx
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 12:39pm

    Can we clone Reagan?!?

    Report Post » gmoneytx  
    • CHULAIGUY
      Posted on September 7, 2011 at 12:49pm

      Why do you need money for the Contras? Need Congress Circomvented? Need a job for Ollie North ?

      Report Post » CHULAIGUY  
  • Lee_in_PA
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 11:44am

    As Pop often told me it seemed like a good idea at the time. I hope those scientists watch all three Jurassic Park movies before they decide to clone T. Rex and all those other dinasaurs. As for a job cleaning up after all those critters, there is enough manure in DC already. And that is a shovel ready job. We don’t need critters capable of snatching up the cleaner and eating them as a snack. We have union thugs for that purpose.

    Report Post » Lee_in_PA  
  • Anonymous T. Irrelevant
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 11:12am

    Please, don’t clone any Terror Birds.

    Report Post » Anonymous T. Irrelevant  
  • Bonnieblue2A
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 10:54am

    Why do scientists seek to place man at the bottom of the food chain once again?

    Report Post »  
  • DonaldH
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 10:29am

    So, from the hair of a long time dead animal we can now (maybe) bring back that dead animal!! Remember, using a particular dead animals DNA you are practically bringing THAT dead animal back (cloning)—– Some one please call Nancy and get a sample of Ronald‘s hair that I’m sure she has kept.. Our nation needs him more than ever right now— and then on the otherhand,, anyone remember Gregory Peck in the “Boys from Brazil”

    Report Post » DonaldH  
    • markjz
      Posted on September 7, 2011 at 11:00am

      Zombie Reagan 2012! he has my vote

      Report Post »  
  • DanWesson455
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 9:41am

    We already have a GIANT T-REX eating up all our tax dollars. Why would I want a bunch of Mastodon’s roaming around eating and crushing everything in its path. Use the money researching this c r a p to help pay off debt, please.

    Report Post » DanWesson455  
  • TomFerrari
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 9:27am

    Of course, these animals wouldn’t be extinct in the first place, if it weren’t for Bush !
    He obviously murdered them all, himself, in order to create oil and fossil fuels.
    .
    .
    Oh, and the Tea Party caused it – we were going to save or create millions of extinct animals, then the Tea Party came along, and stopped us from being able to afford it.
    .
    .
    Oh, now I’m confused – I’m not sure who to blame…

    Hello, White House? Do I blame Bush or the Tea Party?
    It’s not your department?
    Call the Debbie Whats-her-name at the DNC?
    O.K., bye.

    Hello, Debbie? Who do I blame?
    Call J Carney? okay. bye.

    Hello, Carney? Who do I blame?
    Carney: I want to be clear, what IS CERTAIN, is blah blah JOBS blah blah BAD TEA PARTY
    blah blah good obama blah blah BAD BUSH blah blah blah good obama blah blah blah.
    Okay, so, WHO do I blame?
    Carney: I want to be clear, what IS CERTAIN, is blah blah JOBS blah blah BAD TEA PARTY
    blah blah good obama blah blah BAD BUSH blah blah blah good obama blah blah blah.
    Okay, but, REALLY, WHO do I blame?
    Carney: Do you really want to pick this fight with me?
    I’m just asking a question!
    Carney: I want to be clear, what IS CERTAIN, is blah blah JOBS blah blah BAD TEA PARTY
    blah blah good obama blah blah BAD BUSH blah blah blah good obama blah blah blah.

    Never mind, I’ll just blame everyone but obama, as usual.
    Yes, I’ll be sure to include the Tea Party and Bush.
    Thanks. By

    Report Post » TomFerrari  
  • TomFerrari
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 9:05am

    Oh, great…

    Here comes the ASPCEA and PETEA.
    American Society for the Protection of Cruelty to EXTINCT ANIMALS, and,
    People for the Ethical Treatment of EXTINCT ANIMALS.

    Just great.

    They’ll want CONTROL over the DNA samples, because, as “potential life” it will deserve their protection, unlike children in the womb.
    They’ll spend TRILLIONS of tax dollars for the preservation and feeding of dinosaurs. We will have dinosaur rights activists, demanding we stop eating vegetables, because we are taking too much food from the dinos.
    Of course, ManBearPig will blame their extinction on global SOMETHING – global ANYTHING – so long as he gets PAID ! !
    Then millions of people will be thrown off their land, citing, “It was THE DINOSAURS’ land first!”
    Then, the dinosaurs will have rights, and will have attorneys. Soon, they will have their own sovereign nation within the borders of the United States. Of course, they will have to fight the Mexicans as they will have also claimed possession of atzlan.

    I’m a bit confused, though, don’t evolutionists believe in NATURAL SELECTION? Shouldn’t extinct species be left extinct, in that case? Isn’t it “INTERFERING WITH THE LAWS OF NATURE?”
    Just another case of do what I say, and not what I do, or, my rules only apply to YOU, because I am an Harvard-educated, washed, elitist, intellectual, scientist, unlike you mere mortal citizens.
    .
    .
    .

    Report Post » TomFerrari  
    • CONSERVATIVE SUMMER
      Posted on September 7, 2011 at 4:38pm

      And then the dinosaurs can open Dinosaur Casinos and make millions of dollars without having to pay taxes!! AWESOME!!

      Report Post » CONSERVATIVE SUMMER  
  • CountFunkula
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 8:54am

    Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. I want a real life Wonka Factory way, way, way before a Jurassic Park.

    Report Post »  
  • NEAF
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 8:48am

    Oh I know, we are going to feed the poor. Or, the other way around?

    Report Post » NEAF  
  • WHATINTHEHELL2011
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 8:39am

    Tyrannosaurus Rex game reserve, cannot wait.

    Report Post »  
  • shirelover
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 8:19am

    part of the problem is that cloning is not perfected in that the creatures that are cloned are in poor health. Look at Dolly, she did not live a full life due to health factors. Granted, we are getting better at keeping them alive, but… look at it another way… it would be a job shoveling dung… ;-)

    Report Post » shirelover  
  • Nations
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 8:12am

    There are indications that the Great Pyramids might have been in existence prior to 10,000 years ago in fact some say 12,900 years ago or in an age referred to as Zep Tepi. Their sophistication suggests that those who lived in that distant age were highly advanced. If the Wooly Mammoth was used to transport very heavy stones and such, it might behoove us to use these great strong beasts that can be trained to do some of the heavy lifting. Who knows? But, by the same token, do we want these entities roaming around Washington? I am sure the GOP would love to change their symbol to the Wooly Version.

    Report Post » Nations  
    • TomFerrari
      Posted on September 7, 2011 at 9:08am

      I hear they were landing pads for alien spaceships, too!
      And, they had a giant ring that allowed them to instantaneously transport from one planet to another, thousands of light-years away, via means of a control device called a “Dial-Home-Device“ or ”DHD” for short. I also heard the Air Force has one of those under Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado.

      Report Post » TomFerrari  
  • jkendal
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 7:55am

    The question isn’t “Can we?” – the question is “Should we?”

    Report Post »  
  • Rayblue
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 7:40am

    Just like Barrack. A small radical group brings the monster alive to railroad a
    science fiction vision of Utopia upon us.
    Then the monster turns on it’s keepers and destroys the compound. When it was just doing what comes naturally to monsters.
    Just like.

    Report Post » Rayblue  
  • Your Name Here
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 7:27am

    They’ve already brought back the Dodo by crossing a jackass and a white trailer trash skank.
    I think you’ve seen it… they call it Obama.
    Some of the defining charateristics are a very thin shell, extreme self awareness, lack of any morals, and so on.
    It’s suspected that it may be a hermaphrodite due to the constant comments of others that is should breed with itself.

    Report Post » Your Name Here  
    • TomFerrari
      Posted on September 7, 2011 at 9:12am

      First, I laughed, really hard.

      Then, I took offense on behalf of white trailer trash across America.
      (My roots are firmly bedded in “white trailer trash”, and I wouldn’t change it for anything!)
      .
      .
      .
      (except maybe a case of cold PBR, LOL!!)
      .
      Seriously, how ’bout givin’ poor white folk a break?
      .

      Report Post » TomFerrari  
    • DonaldH
      Posted on September 7, 2011 at 10:48am

      Yep, let’s giveém a break, they always seem to be the first to stand up when their and the rights of others are genuinely threatened,, but they don’t make their stand using fancy words and slick legalese,, they back their stance with the knowledge of violence—- They truly are representatives of— “DON’T TREAD ON ME”– Ever wonder how many lawyers, doctors or Yale Grads were in the first three waves that stormed Omaha Beach?

      Report Post » DonaldH  
  • jackbauer
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 6:31am

    I’m not sure we are suppose to have every thing that has lived on the earth living here now. We hear from the lefties that the earth is over populated now. We don’t exactly have natural predators for wooly mammoths and I know the warm fuzzy people are not going to let us hunt them. Do we really want to reproduce their predators? Oh, I see how this is going. The newly introduced predators will hunt and kill the evil humans that are destroying the planet. Of course they won’t attack the critter luvin, intellectual, ruling class cus they are special.

    Report Post » jackbauer  
    • Shrugged
      Posted on September 7, 2011 at 7:52am

      Yeah – good point. They use abortion to control the world’s population, but they let flies and mosquitos reproduce endessly. If they truly lived by their own standards, they would impose equal treatment fo all species and limit them like they do humans in China. :<)

      Report Post »  
  • outsidethebox
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 4:51am

    I agree with all points above, some things should just be left alone. Just because you “can” do something, doesn’t mean you “should” do something.

    Report Post » outsidethebox  
    • outsidethebox
      Posted on September 7, 2011 at 4:55am

      Edit: I meant all the points below, I guess the Blaze fixed the posting glitch. My comments usually show up last.

      Report Post » outsidethebox  
  • Diane TX
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 2:15am

    … and exactly “why” would we want to bring back extinct species? They are extinct for a reason.

    Report Post »  
    • dissentnow
      Posted on September 7, 2011 at 6:36am

      Some species are extinct because humans have hunted or polluted them into extinction. If we can use technology to bring back, lets say, the Chinese River Dolphin, then i’m all for it.

      Report Post »  
    • Shrugged
      Posted on September 7, 2011 at 7:48am

      Environmentalists constantly try to un-do and control nature and the natural laws because
      (1) they assume that man isn’t/can’t be allowed to be a part of that dynamic.
      (2) Self imposed guilt.
      (3) If they can do global warming and get so many dodos to believe in it, why can’t they play God and make dead dinos come to life?

      Report Post »  
  • Constructionist
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 1:57am

    “Oooh, ahhh, that’s how it always starts. Then later there’s running and screaming.”

    Report Post » Constructionist  
    • alina.bolero
      Posted on September 7, 2011 at 6:29am

      ROFLMAO …. so true

      Report Post » alina.bolero  
    • danenut6
      Posted on September 7, 2011 at 8:14am

      HA Love it! Though I would like to see these animals in person and would love to see how close we are on color and behavior on some of them I also do not think it is a good idea. . . . science is NOT perfect and how do you know you would not bring back bacteria or disease that has been dormant because it did not have that ONE species needed to spread it?

      Report Post »  
  • CatB
    Posted on September 7, 2011 at 1:43am

    Perhaps they need to see the movies … doesn’t turn out so well for the humans.

    Report Post »  
    • Shrugged
      Posted on September 7, 2011 at 7:49am

      I dunno – Laura Dern made a lot of money getting chased and snapped at . . . .

      Report Post »  
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