Cloning the Woolly Mammoth
Scientific research and practices are advancing at a rapid pace. Many of the breakthroughs have exceeded the expectations of our most vivid imaginations, and have forced society to grapple with challenges related to ethics and morality. The most glaring example of this dilemma lies in the field of cloning.
The new documentary Cloning the Woolly Mammoth tackles this debate by taking us on a journey around the globe in regions where researchers are making great strides in replicating various species in their laboratories.
The world was abuzz when the news broke that species such as sheep and dogs were successfully cloned. Now, scientists are working diligently to make their next cloning experiment a reality, and it's the kind of quest that most of us have only witnessed through the imaginings of Hollywood movie makers. Can advances in cloning allow us to resurrect a long extinct and prehistoric species like the woolly mammoth?
This quest begins in South Korea, where cloning has become a widely accepted reality, and a profitable business to boot. Wealthy consumers can even have their beloved pets cloned for $100,000 per specimen. But the next evolution in cloning technologies makes these accomplishments seem tame and antiquated in comparison. Utilizing mammoth tissue samples imported from Siberia, scientists inject these long dormant cells into the Asian elephant; thereby, attempting to recreate a species which has been extinct for over 4,000 years.
Why the mammoth? Scientists state that it's simply because it's within the realm of possibility. "Someone on this Earth will have to do it and I think it's us," says interview subject Dr. Jeong Yeon Woo, the director of the Sooam Mammoth Rebirth Project. "Don't you think it will be fun to find out what comes out?"
The ethical implications of the experiment don't end there. Siberian tusk hunters are one of the major groups who profit from the woolly mammoth project, and their efforts play a primary role in supplying the samples which make the experiment possible.
Cloning the Woolly Mammoth explores the many controversial variables involved in this brave new world of scientific research; a world which may be ill-prepared if these experiments should reap success.
Before cloning wooly mammoths, we need to set aside large protected areas where the animals are protected by security but available to be seen by visitors. The visitors could pay admission to support their management. This would include disease control, injury aid, herd number control, everyday supervision of food and water, and security.
Pretty sure Spielberg already did a movie on this.
How do you "know" That people are being cloned already?These documentaries only tell you what they want you to know! Rockerfella has has 6 Heart transplants,
It's a shame that such an earth shaking and controversial topic was ruined by terrible narration, terrible acting, terrible music, and terrible production. Was there anything, aside from the people interviewed, good about this documentary?
To create a viable population will take hundreds of years since genetic diversity requires many variations. By that time the Siberian permafrost will have belched up enough methane to smother the atmosphere. LOL
what next ?the cloning of a wolly slave worker predestined to mine in arctic conditions & able to live of frozen H2o?'Horray!'
Alot Of Animals Are Extinct Because Of Us So Bringing Them Back Is The Least We Can Do
Sounds well in theory but extinctions occurred because we didn't understand the implications of changing the ecosystem ourselves. How can we be sure we are now ready to wield that kind of control intentionally? Because we can is never a well reasoned rationale.
True :3 Though There Are Some extinct Species That we Should Bring Back Though Because the World could From Benefit From Bringing Them Back So.
I Don't Think We Ever Will Be Able To Truly Wield That Type Of Power Correctly.But I Don't Think We Shouldn't Try
Bah, we can kill them again and turn them into a new brand of happy meal, who wouldn't want a mammoth steak or black plague slurpy? ;)
Cloning to bring back extinct animals would be great! They didn't become extinct due to natural evolution so we should bring them back!
Not Necessarily Its A Bit More Complicated Than That. Because What Would The Ecological Effects Be.For Example It Could Completely Destroy that Habitat And In Turn Cause The Destruction Of Another Habitat So You Have Be Extremely Careful About It Or Disaster WILL Strike.
The mammoths are extinct precisely because of evolution. Humans are a force of evolution. If they are dead because of us, well, that is evolution. Sad but true.
No proof had ever been conclusive about WHY the mammuth became extinct so you cannot draw any conclusions about this. Remember, humans co-hexisted with mammuth for x00,000 years in Europe, more than 40,000 yrs in Siberia and several x,000 years in America (yes, there were people before Clovis). So it's impossible to blame humans as the climate change was far worse than us. Maybe the last mammuth was killed by us, or by a bear or lion, but still the climate change was the main driver of their extinction. Differently, the mammuth would still be with us as their cousins in Asia-Africa are.