Woolly Mammoth DNA Successfully Spliced Into Elephant Cells - Polidicks

[QUOTE][url]http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/woolly-mammoth-dna-successfully-spliced-into-elephant-cells/ar-AA9X8Ba[/url][/QUOTE] [QUOTE]A group of researchers are getting closer to bringing the extinct woolly mammoth back to life. Geneticist George Church’s lab at Harvard University successfully copied genes from frozen woolly mammoths and pasted them into the genome of an Asian elephant. Using a DNA editing tool called CRISPR, the scientists spliced genes for the mammoths’ small ears, subcutaneous fat, and hair length and color into the DNA of elephant skin cells. The tissue cultures represent the first time woolly mammoth genes have been functional since the species went extinct around 4,000 years ago. [/QUOTE]

Even if nothing spectacular comes from this, the fact that they still did it is fucking bananas insane

You know, when the Woolly Mammoth comes back to life, I want one.

I was watching a talk from michio kaku about what might happen in the future, and he mentioned the possibility of bringing back he mammoth. The question is, what happens to it, does it get put in a zoo? Studied for future advancements? Or does it get protected as an endangered species seeing as its the last of its kind?

Ok how do genes long since put out of commission so to speak, effect an organism that is alive? I mean medically?

[QUOTE=James xX;47390192]I was watching a talk from michio kaku about what might happen in the future, and he mentioned the possibility of bringing back he mammoth. The question is, what happens to it, does it get put in a zoo? Studied for future advancements? Or does it get protected as an endangered species seeing as its the last of its kind?[/QUOTE] Well, the guy says they want to set up vats ([url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_uterus[/url]) to breed them in so they can better control the engineering. It's not like they're going to make one and be done. It's ear and fat genes, but its a first. [quote]“Just making a DNA change isn’t that meaningful,” says Church. “We want to read out the phenotypes.” To do that, the team needs to figure out how to take the flat hybrid cells from a petri dish and coax them into becoming specialized tissues--such as blood cells or liver organoids--then test to see if they behave properly. For example, do the mammoth hair genes lead to hair that's the right color, length, and woolliness? If those tests go well, the team hopes to turn the elephant/mammoth skin cells into hybrid embryos that can be grown in artificial wombs, devices that allow for pregnancies outside of an animal's uterus. Artificial wombs are pretty speculative at this point, but the alternative--implanting the hybrids into the wombs of female elephants--is unsavory to animal rights activists as well as geneticists. “It’s going to be more humane and easier if we can set up hundreds of [embryos] in an incubator and run tests,” says Church. [B]If they can get the hybrid creatures to survive, the project's first goal will be to engineer an elephant that can survive in cold temperatures. The team thinks that expanding the elephant’s range into colder climates could help keep it away from humans and the conflicts that are threatening to make Asian and African elephants extinct. Later, after the engineered elephants gain a foothold, Church says the team will try to revive the mammoths by integrating higher amounts of mammoth DNA into the hybrids.[/B][/quote] [url]http://www.popsci.com/woolly-mammoth-dna-brought-life-elephant-cells[/url]

[QUOTE=usaokay;47390150]Just one step closer for me to live out my fantasy of riding a Woolly Mammoth into battle like in LOTR.[/QUOTE] Finally! I can die the way I want to!

omg what if we could ride them in the arctic or what if we miniaturized them so children could have miniature woolly mammoths (like in spy kids?) science is fucking awesome.

God damn. Think about it. We can manipulate the DNA of things. We can effectively play god. We can [I]make[/I] creatures. Fuck. Were fucking amazing and scary at the same time.

[quote]Using a DNA editing tool called CRISPR[/quote] reading "dna editing tool" makes me think of a big machine where some scientists press a few buttons and shit like a lion mixed with a fish comes out

Y'know, Siberia would probably be an ideal environment for mammoths if we ever bred them to such an extent that they could be released into the wild. But until that day when collectors are trying to score some genuine Siberian ivory, I'd settle for seeing these things in zoos or wildlife reservations.

If they can get this to work in the long run, and presuming the resulting hybrid was fertile, I imagine the next step would be to take its eggs and splice more mammoth DNA in and then repeatedly iterate this over several generations to effectively get a pure mammoth again.

It's nice to know that one of the cooler extinct animals is the one to be the key to all this. [t]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Woolly_mammoth.jpg[/t]

Hopefully, though most likely the earliest "prototype" hybrids would be sterile like mules and hinnies, as is the case for most hybrid species (I think it's called Haldane's rule), and they would need a lot of gene therapy before they could produce any offspring, let alone calves that're healthy and fertile. For this branch of science, what we really need is a software system that can sequence DNA and produce virtual examples of the lifeform (in various stages of development) based on the data, enabling scientists to make tweaks in the code and effectively "program" each of the chromosomes to try and bugfix the organism, before they print the code and assemble the zygote for implantation into the appropriate pod like Dune's axolotl tanks (although preferably not using unconscious women as surrogates like those Bene Tleilax twats). Still, it's a long ways off, but if it were possible, the tech could be used to create proper hybrids without all the various mutations and health issues that come from unintelligent design.

goddamn it i hate living in such an advanced period of science that all the cool shit has already happened and cooler shit will happen much later fuck i hope i can live to see a real ass mammoth dude

[QUOTE=Zukriuchen;47390313]reading "dna editing tool" makes me think of a big machine where some scientists press a few buttons and shit like a lion mixed with a fish comes out[/QUOTE] its like mod tools for real life

[QUOTE=KingKombat;47390444]goddamn it i hate living in such an advanced period of science that all the cool shit has already happened and cooler shit will happen much later fuck i hope i can live to see a real ass mammoth dude[/QUOTE] You're living in a period of science where all the cool shit is happening as we speak. Take a moment, breathe it in. And then realize that we basically live in Star Trek without the space travel.

[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;47390445]its like mod tools for real life[/QUOTE] If and when this shit takes off, I imagine that genetic programming would become an actual profession. And considering the deteriorating state of our world, it'd probably be a highly sought-after profession at that, with many companies wanting to get onto some sort of "non-Mendellian" bandwagon to solve the future food crises and make serious bank doing it. Not to mention the implications in medicine, either. Hell I bet designer babies would be a big thing in certain shady circles, regardless of whatever international legislation prohibits that kind of stuff save for fixing certain faulty genes.

[QUOTE=ironman17;47390493]If and when this shit takes off, I imagine that genetic programming would become an actual profession. And considering the deteriorating state of our world, it'd probably be a highly sought-after profession at that, with many companies wanting to get onto some sort of "non-Mendellian" bandwagon to solve the future food crises and make serious bank doing it. Not to mention the implications in medicine, either. Hell I bet designer babies would be a big thing in certain shady circles, regardless of whatever international legislation prohibits that kind of stuff save for fixing certain faulty genes.[/QUOTE] Wouldn't genetic programming basically be the end of hereditary cancers and genetic disorders as well?

[QUOTE=ironman17;47390493]If and when this shit takes off, I imagine that genetic programming would become an actual profession. And considering the deteriorating state of our world, it'd probably be a highly sought-after profession at that, with many companies wanting to get onto some sort of "non-Mendellian" bandwagon to solve the future food crises and make serious bank doing it.[/QUOTE] I hope this genetic programming doesn't end up like computer programming. Imagine "off-shore development teams" and "highly paid consultants" writing genetic code.

[QUOTE=Zukriuchen;47390313]reading "dna editing tool" makes me think of a big machine where some scientists press a few buttons and shit like a lion mixed with a fish comes out[/QUOTE] [img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/68/Impossible_Creatures_cover.jpg[/img]

[quote] The tissue cultures represent the first time woolly mammoth genes have been functional since the species went extinct around 4,000 years ago.[/quote] Suck it nature, we necromancers now.

[QUOTE=Zukriuchen;47390313]reading "dna editing tool" makes me think of a big machine where some scientists press a few buttons and shit like a lion mixed with a fish comes out[/QUOTE] Dude CRISPR systems are bad ass. The system has a lot of applications. It was originally thought to be primarily a viral DNA defense for bacteria. Nucleic acids from bacteriophages, exogenous plasmids, etc come in, Cas proteins are signaled and degrade the viral nucleic acids in order to protect the bacteria. It's basically, in a manner, a small immune system (really simplifying there). Not too long ago though (2013), they found out that it has another function in bacteria, and a particularly bad one for us. The bacteria [I]Francisella novicida[/I] use the system to manipulate their own DNA rather than just degrade foreign genetic material. What the CRISPR/Cas system does in [I]F. novicida[/I] is essentially turn off a gene for a temporary period that allows it to negate the host immune system once the bacteria infects another organism. The particular gene is what Toll-like receptor 2 binds too, signalling the release of cytokines that recruit other immune system factors. Since the CRISPR system can 'de-activate' this gene, the bacteria can slip in without alerting anything but the innate immune system, increasing it's overall virulence. That's pretty damn scary. But seeing that it's been used to inject DNA is a pretty novel use. I'm looking forward to having a chance to read their methodology once they do finish their research and publish. Everyone should be a Biologist, it basically turns the physical world into a candy shop of information.

CANT WAIT FOR DINOSAURS AND VAMPIRES AND SHIT

Humanity as made a lot of mistakes in it's young life. I hope that with this we will be able to repair all the creatures we have driven extinct.

Next up: megalodon.

[QUOTE=Citrus705;47391376]CANT WAIT FOR DINOSAURS AND VAMPIRES AND SHIT[/QUOTE] Unfortanetly it's been confirmed that it's impossible to bring back the dinosaurs due to their DNA being too damaged. We won't see a Jurassic Park sadly.

It's awesome to imagine giving some species of animals a second chance in our world after we drove them to extinction. Could you imagine seeing a Dodo at your local zoo?

[QUOTE=Zukriuchen;47390313]reading "dna editing tool" makes me think of a big machine where some scientists press a few buttons and shit like a [B]lion mixed with a fish[/B] comes out[/QUOTE] If anyone is on that, it's Singapore: [IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Merlion_Closeup.JPG/640px-Merlion_Closeup.JPG[/IMG]

We went from hunting with sticks and rocks to fucking bringing extinct species back from the dead. Truly a time to be alive. We're literally manipulating genes what defines what we are, we're modifying things at such a molecular level it's amazing how a species can become so intelligent.