Re: Clone

[Richard W Travsky <rtravsky@uwyo.edu>]

On Thu, 12 Oct 2000, Finback wrote:
> At 07:05 pm 8/10/00 -0500, Steve  Brusatte wrote:
> 
> >Many of the news reports were discussing how "extinct animals cannot be
> brought back to life this way because live cells are needed."
> >
> >Hypothetically, though, if DNA was found frozen in good condition from
> something that recently went extinct, say an Irish Elk, then could this
> method work?  If the DNA was in good condition, then HYPOTHETICALLY this
> would be possible.  The DNA from the dead gaur was kept fresh by being
> frozen, if I recall correctly.  
> >
> >To my knowledge, a complete strand of frozen DNA from any kind of
> prehistoric species of organism has not been found.  Perhaps I am wrong.
> But if some is found, then perhaps this method would work.
> 
>       This is something I've pondered before - given the fairly abundant 
> frozen
> mammoths, is it not likely we could get a complete sequence from one? And
> then, wouldn't it be likely that there's at least one of each sex? Just mix
> and match, add one Mama _Elephas_, and lo! A reheated mammoth
> clone/offpsring..

Well, the following link

 http://www.msnbc.com/news/474329.asp

is about large mammal dieoffs in North and South America (as in what done
it).

A researcher by the name of Ross Macphee has taken samples of mammoth bone
marrow - marrow that's in good shape. They're looking for evidence of
viruses in the marrow, and this depends on how well preserved the DNA is.

The mammoths the samples are from are Siberian. They range from 4500 to
23000 years in age.

If things are well preserved, no doubt someone will get the idea of
doing your "reheated mammoth".