These scientists want to bring back the woolly mammoth-Ethicists aren’t so sure: 'Deeaann' from Zoom meeting suggestion for the advancement of science

These scientists want to bring back the woolly mammoth-Ethicists aren’t so sure: 'Deeaan' from Zoom meeting suggestion for the advancement of science

The Washington Post/Democracy Dies in Darkness

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Science 

These scientists want to bring back the woolly mammoth. Ethicists aren’t so sure. 

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By Caroline Anders, September 16, 2021

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A start-up, Colossal Laboratories & Biosciences, made headlines earlier this week when the company announced an ambitious plan to create a “cold-resistant elephant with all of the core biological traits of the woolly mammoth.” The scientists behind the initiative say their work could help reverse the effects of climate change and advance genetic engineering.

But their idea has also generated a fierce ethical debate, not unlike the one that played out on movie screens years ago: Is this another case where scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should? 

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Colossal, which has received at least $15 million from investors, has set out to edit the Asian elephant’s DNA, inserting traits from the woolly mammoth. Then, using the same process that created Dolly the sheep, the first mammal successfully cloned from an adult cell, scientists aim to create a hybrid woolly mammoth-Asian elephant embryo. 

A surrogate African elephant would carry the embryo for a gestation period of nearly two years. The company is also working on the possibility of creating artificial wombs.

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Ben Lamm, CEO of Colossal, told The Washington Post in an email that the extinction of the woolly mammoth left an ecological void in the Arctic tundra that Colossal aims to fill. The eventual goal is to return the species to the region so that they can reestablish grasslands and protect the permafrost, keeping it from releasing greenhouse gases at such a high rate.

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Thompson said biologists are still trying to uncover what makes some species invasive and others helpful to a new ecosystem, and said there’s a conversation to be had about whether introducing a woolly mammoth equates to introducing an invasive species. Cited “We’re not going to start making any progress until we stop wringing our hands, about the potential risks and really concentrate on the potential rewards,” she said.

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Comments

During the weekly, open topic, Zoom meeting, I wondered if Deeaann was providing this link in the chat, reasoning in the future that the remaining unvaccinated should be placed on an isolated island with genetically engineered, woolly mammoths and dinosaurs.

This could promote social distancing...