Scientists to Clone Wooly Mammoth

One of the best known and most studied prehistoric mammals; the wooly mammoth was an enormous elephant-like land animal that existed from roughly 150,000 years ago until 1700 BC.

Warmer temperatures in eastern Russia have recently allowed scientists to unearth several well-preserved mammoths, including one containing preserved bone marrow. It may be possible for scientists to extract the DNA from this marrow and combine it with that from an elephant, allowing them to clone the mammoth.

Discovery News reports that Russian and Japanese scientists plan to clone a mammoth within five years. If they are successful, the result would likely be pretty controversial. After all, most of us are familiar with the story of Jurassic Park!