Scientists have managed to recreate the almost complete genome of the woolly mammoth. This could be a step towards recreating this extinct species in the future. Thanks to the collaboration of American and Russian scientists, DNA obtained from the hair of mammoths extracted from Siberian permafrost has been reconstructed. These revelations are reported in the latest issue of the weekly “Nature”. According to research carried out, among others. by Stephan Schuster of Pennsylvania State University, woolly mammoths distinguished them from their closest relatives – elephants – just 0.6 proc. genetic material. That's almost half as much as different humans and chimpanzees. Scientists have already recreated the sequence of approx. 80 proc. Nuclear DNA of woolly mammoths. The last mammoths walked on the Earth's surface approx. 3 700 years ago. Will they reappear on it thanks to the efforts of geneticists?? It's a bit like that, how to build a car having only 80 proc. parts, some broken – comments on the idea by Jeremy Austin of the Center for Ancient DNA Research at the University of Adelaide. However, there is no doubt whatsoever, that there will be plenty of enthusiasts for such a construction.
