Comments on: Cloning a wooly mammoth: Harder than it sounds http://boingboing.net/2011/12/07/cloning-a-wooly-mammoth-harde.html Brain candy for Happy Mutants Sat, 25 May 2013 07:36:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: knappa http://boingboing.net/2011/12/07/cloning-a-wooly-mammoth-harde.html#comment-1290298 knappa Thu, 08 Dec 2011 03:08:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=133256#comment-1290298 ...wooly mammoth returns just in time for global warming. …wooly mammoth returns just in time for global warming.

]]> By: MarcVader http://boingboing.net/2011/12/07/cloning-a-wooly-mammoth-harde.html#comment-1289913 MarcVader Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:59:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=133256#comment-1289913 Fascinating. Basically they plan to create a new species, a mammoth elephant hybrid. What I find problematic is that they are forced to use corrupted mammoth source code, probably filling in the gaps with elephant DNA, to fertilize an elephant ovum. If they do it the way I imagine them to, the resulting DNA is less than 50% mammoth. The whole process is a gamble. This genetic blueprint combined with an elephant womb may start cell division, may reach early stages of being a living organism. Who knows? DNA and its resulting ribosomes, proteins, enzymes and so on are extremely sophisticated, and irregularities in the genetic sequence can and often do have fatal consequences because a lot can go wrong when trying to grow a complex and dynamic living organism. In fact the true miracle of live is that it works at all, cheating entropy until its death (and cheating it even more through procreation). The low success rates of cloning extinct creatures might be an indication that we are, necessarily, working with flawed DNA, thereby creating flawed creatures at high rates, if at all. Once such a creature is alive in a way that mammals are this probably means we have succeeded at creating a sufficiently less flawed organism. It may however still not be fit for life. To get an idea what I'm hinting at think about the last time you were ill. It's not nice. We may very well be inventing creatures who are sickly or otherwise suffering that never reach an age comparable to its ancestors' lifespan. Might be somewhat unethical... On the other hand I'd love to see a Chickensaurus. Also Kinki University sounds like fun. Fascinating. Basically they plan to create a new species, a mammoth elephant hybrid. What I find problematic is that they are forced to use corrupted mammoth source code, probably filling in the gaps with elephant DNA, to fertilize an elephant ovum. If they do it the way I imagine them to, the resulting DNA is less than 50% mammoth. The whole process is a gamble. This genetic blueprint combined with an elephant womb may start cell division, may reach early stages of being a living organism. Who knows? DNA and its resulting ribosomes, proteins, enzymes and so on are extremely sophisticated, and irregularities in the genetic sequence can and often do have fatal consequences because a lot can go wrong when trying to grow a complex and dynamic living organism. In fact the true miracle of live is that it works at all, cheating entropy until its death (and cheating it even more through procreation).

The low success rates of cloning extinct creatures might be an indication that we are, necessarily, working with flawed DNA, thereby creating flawed creatures at high rates, if at all. Once such a creature is alive in a way that mammals are this probably means we have succeeded at creating a sufficiently less flawed organism. It may however still not be fit for life.

To get an idea what I’m hinting at think about the last time you were ill. It’s not nice. We may very well be inventing creatures who are sickly or otherwise suffering that never reach an age comparable to its ancestors’ lifespan. Might be somewhat unethical…
On the other hand I’d love to see a Chickensaurus.

Also Kinki University sounds like fun.

]]> By: Teirhan http://boingboing.net/2011/12/07/cloning-a-wooly-mammoth-harde.html#comment-1289691 Teirhan Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:01:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=133256#comment-1289691 I'm drooling already.  Mammoth prime rib, yum! I’m drooling already.  Mammoth prime rib, yum!

]]> By: knoxblox http://boingboing.net/2011/12/07/cloning-a-wooly-mammoth-harde.html#comment-1289677 knoxblox Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:51:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=133256#comment-1289677 Maybe replacing some whales and dolphins might be a better idea. Maybe replacing some whales and dolphins might be a better idea.

]]> By: phisrow http://boingboing.net/2011/12/07/cloning-a-wooly-mammoth-harde.html#comment-1289643 phisrow Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:31:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=133256#comment-1289643 Oh Discover Magazine... You underestimate the determination of the Japanese when confronted with the possibility of eating a new type of large, endangered, mammal... Oh Discover Magazine…

You underestimate the determination of the Japanese when confronted with the possibility of eating a new type of large, endangered, mammal…

]]> By: Brainspore http://boingboing.net/2011/12/07/cloning-a-wooly-mammoth-harde.html#comment-1289640 Brainspore Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:29:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=133256#comment-1289640 No easy task, but the rewards would definitely be worth the effort. Think about it: if our primitive ancestors were willing to take one of those beasts down with nothing more than a bunch of pointy sticks then they must be <em>delicious.</em> No easy task, but the rewards would definitely be worth the effort. Think about it: if our primitive ancestors were willing to take one of those beasts down with nothing more than a bunch of pointy sticks then they must be delicious.

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