Russian scientists have begun their quest to clone prehistoric animals, including but not limited to a woolly mammoth, hoping that Siberian permafrost will give them a competitive advantage and a good possibility of finding undamaged DNA samples to resurrect the ancient species.
Scientists hope to extract live DNA by carefully scanning through more than 2,000 rare exhibits contained in the lab, which is especially equipped to preserve tissue samples in freezers of -87 degrees Celsius. The new lab will also be used to swiftly analyze any newly found samples, without the risk of damaging them while transferring them to a distant laboratory
The researchers’ overarching aim is to create a real-life “Jurassic Park” (or scientifically speaking a “Pleistocene Park”) full of extinct animals living in a specially designed nature reserve located on the Kolyma River in Yakutia. The project is currently aiming to recreate the pre-ice age environmental conditions, including the grasslands, by the time the extinct animals are resurrected.
