Oxford biochemist says dinosaurs and Woolly Mammoths could be brought back to life - but dinosaurs could be trickier.
They bestrode the earth millions of years ago before dying out, but dinosaurs could theoretically be brought back to life, according to an Oxford biochemist.
Dr Alison Woollard said it would be theoretically possible to recreate ancient animals, through the DNA of birds.
By identifying and altering certain genes found in the DNA of modern birds, she believes scientists may be able to “design” genomes of the prehistoric creatures.
“We know that birds are the direct descendants of dinosaurs, as proven by an unbroken line of fossils which tracks the evolution of the lineage from creatures such as the velociraptor or T-Rex through to the birds flying around today,” said Dr Woollard.
“The most famous of these is the Archaeopteryx, a fossil which clearly shows the transition between feathered dinosaurs and modern birds.
“This evolution implies that buried deep within the DNA of today’s birds are switched-off genes that control dinosaur-like traits.
All animals and plants are related, sharing a common ancestor that lived about 1.6 billion years ago.
“In theory we could use our knowledge of the genetic relationship of birds to dinosaurs to 'design’ the genome of a dinosaur,” said Dr Woollard.
However, despite the theoretical possibility, there are practical obstacles and ethical questions that cannot be ignored.”
The difficulty, claims Dr Woollard is understanding the full length of a dinosaur’s genome in order to know which edits to make to a bird’s genome.
Even if surviving dinosaur DNA was uncovered, it would be found in very short fragments.
To make a full genome, scientists would have to combine together millions of short fragments of nucleic acids in exactly the right order, just like putting together an enormous jigsaw puzzle where each tiny piece was shaped exactly alike.
However bringing back a Woolly Mammoth would pose fewer problems.
With modern cloning techniques it is possible to bring back extinct species which died out within the 6.8 million year time-frame, if viable cells could be found.
Dr Woollard said: “The researchers would need to harvest an egg from the mammoth’s closest living relative the elephant, a process that is tricky enough in itself, that has yet to be done successfully, replace the elephant cell’s nucleus with the mammoth nucleus and induce cell division through electric shock.
“And on a more practical note, if we remind ourselves of the terror portrayed in the Jurassic Park blockbuster ... do we really want to live alongside dinosaurs?”.
As with most scientific advancement, it's the unintended consequences that can be the most fascinating.
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