Return of the Mammoth

If you believe the old cartoons, elephants are afraid of mice. But would a woolly mammoth be afraid of a woolly mouse? We may soon find out.

That’s because scientists have recently used gene editing tools to tweak the mouse genetic code, adding genes from woolly mammoth DNA.

The result? The woolly mouse, with long, shaggy fur and extra insulating fat. Fortunately, no tusks.

The woolly mouse is the first step toward the de-extinction of the woolly mammoth itself.

For that, the scientists will have to edit more genes in an embryo of the Asian elephant, the mammoth’s closest living relative. Then gestate that embryo in the womb of an elephant.

Not everyone is a fan of the idea. Some have ethical concerns—just because we could bring them back, doesn’t mean we should. Others worry that de-extincted animals may struggle in modern climates, or invasively outperform existing animals.

Mammoths disappeared after the last Ice Age, as Earth warmed and human hunters took a liking to mammoth barbecue.

The de-extinction team believes they could bring them back, this decade. The question then is what to do with them?

They’ve proposed creating herds of mammoths to release in Arctic regions like Siberia, to do what they once did—knock down trees, tramp down and compact the permafrost, to keep it from melting, and preserve the habitat of the tundra.

If we can keep from re-extincting them, mammoths may one day roam wild again.