Geneticists are currently considering using technologies described in this chapter to de-extinct thewoolly mammoth, a species that disappearedroughly 4000 years ago.a. Frozen specimens of woolly mammoths have beenfound in the Siberian tundra. If intact, living cellscould be obtained from these samples, how couldyou attempt to bring back these long-extinct animals using these cells and oocytes from Asian elephants, a closely related species? b. Scientists have determined the genome sequence ofthe mammoth from frozen samples. These researchers are now trying to understand the adaptations that allowed these creatures to surviveextreme cold. For example, mammoths had muchthicker hair than do any elephants. How in theorycould you use CRISPR/Cas9 to investigate thegenetic basis of the difference in hair thicknessbetween mammoths and elephants?c. How (again in theory) might it be possible to extend the CRISPR/Cas9 technique to de-extinct themammoth? What kinds of technical challenges areinvolved in this approach? Why do you think somepeople consider the idea of de-extinction to beunethical?
Geneticists are currently considering using technologies described in this chapter to de-extinct the
woolly mammoth, a species that disappeared
roughly 4000 years ago.
a. Frozen specimens of woolly mammoths have been
found in the Siberian tundra. If intact, living cells
could be obtained from these samples, how could
you attempt to bring back these long-extinct animals using these cells and oocytes from Asian elephants, a closely related species?
b. Scientists have determined the genome sequence of
the mammoth from frozen samples. These researchers are now trying to understand the adaptations that allowed these creatures to survive
extreme cold. For example, mammoths had much
thicker hair than do any elephants. How in theory
could you use CRISPR/Cas9 to investigate the
genetic basis of the difference in hair thickness
between mammoths and elephants?
c. How (again in theory) might it be possible to extend the CRISPR/Cas9 technique to de-extinct the
mammoth? What kinds of technical challenges are
involved in this approach? Why do you think some
people consider the idea of de-extinction to be
unethical?
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