Mammoths and Neanderthals could soon be resurrected

By Dick Pelletier

      

    Today the only place to see wooly mammoths, Neanderthals, and people side-by-side is on TV or in the movies. But researchers have recently devised a unique genetic alteration method that they believe may soon revive some of humanity’s most exciting long-dead species.

    Penn State scientists predict that new procedures they developed will one day enable researchers to clone a living wooly mammoth, the hairy elephant-like creature that roamed Siberia and North America 10,000 years ago.

    Researchers Stephan C. Schuster and Webb Miller reported in a recent issue of the science magazine Nature, that they have designed a procedure that could modify a cell from an African elephant and make it resemble a mammoth’s genome. The cell would then be converted into an embryo and brought to term by an elephant; a project they estimate will cost $10 million.

    And some paleoanthropologist's reason that if mammoths can be brought back, so could Neanderthals. A rough draft of the Neanderthal genome is expected to be available in 2009.

    It's an exciting thought to say the least – to revive members of the long-dead Neanderthal species and allow them to experience 21st century life. Scientists believe these ancient human cousins were driven to extinction by the first modern humans that entered Europe some 45,000 years ago.

    However ethicists are concerned. The process of reengineering human genes into an extinct Neanderthal would probably raise many objections, as would several other aspects of such a project. "The Vatican opposes all human cloning, and all production of human beings in the laboratory, so I do not see how any of this could be ethically acceptable in humans," said Richard Doerflinger, an official with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

    But others see an alternative approach that could allow this research to go forward. Instead of using a human genome, scientists would modify genes from a chimpanzee, which is 98 percent similar to humans. The chimp’s genome would be progressively altered until it was close enough to that of a Neanderthal, and the embryo brought to term in a chimpanzee.

    There is more than just the "wow" element to this project, experts say. Cloning Neanderthals would not only save part of our biological heritage, but University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist John Hawks believes that analyzing genes from this powerful species, "might lead to treatments for problems in humans such as muscle wasting and other genetic defects."

    As wild as the technology may seem, forward thinkers see it unfolding in positive ways. It's not impossible to imagine that quantum computer advances expected by 2020, could provide number-crunching abilities to simulate DNA in other extinct species and bring them into our time with advanced cloning techniques. In the future, we could visit Jurassic Parks filled with real dinosaurs.

    The idea of resurrecting ancient life forms is intriguing, but here's a question: where would we put a herd of mammoths? Remember, natural predators such as the saber-tooth tiger that once hunted them are also extinct.

    And most important, how would the public react to chimp-Neanderthal hybrids living amongst us, sharing our modern world. This radical experiment will surely be studied carefully before scientists turn this "magical future" into reality.

This article appeared in various print publications and on-line blogs. Comments always welcome.