Apparently, scientists are very near to sequencing mammoth DNA. Cloners have shown an active interest in this research, with several attempting to synthesize mammoth DNA using parts from elephant DNA to “fill in the blanks”. Creation of a woolly mammoth could one day be as easy as removing the DNA from a fertilized elephant egg and inserting the mammoth DNA, allowing the mother elephant to carry the baby to term, and voila! Instant exterminated species returns!
In 2005, scientists did this successfully with a virus, resurrecting the exact strain of Spanish Flu which killed off between 2.5% and 5% of the entire human population in 1918, and affected over 20%. That’s between 1 in 20 and 1 in 40 of the entire planet who died in just 18 months, with a much heavier ratio in America and Europe than elsewhere.
That deadly killer is locked in a lab right now, because most humans today still don’t have any immunity to it. Pandemic, anyone?
What are your thoughts on this kind of application of cloning technologies? When do you think it would benefit humanity, and when should we desist? Scientists are all over the map on this question, with many saying “it can’t be done” for DNA fragments beyond a certain antiquity, while others think it can — and should — be done wherever possible to increase our knowledge.