60 Minutes: Could extinct species be brought back through their DNA?
May 31st, 2010 - 8:31 pm ICT by Aishwarya Bhatt
New York, May 31 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Scientists are dreaming of bringing the extinct species back, through the use of the latest in technology and science and of course the DNA. According CBS’s 60 Minutes, scientists have been able to access the DNA of extinct species. Sean Carrol of the University of Wisconsin told the ‘60 Minutes’ that they have made startling progress in the study of DNA of fossils of extinct creatures. Scientists say animal parts like the hair hold genetic information that scientists have just recently been able to identify. Professor Sean Carrol said that it may be possible to take the hair of extinct species and get the complete genetic sequencing of that creature.
On the issue of bringing the extinct creatures back on earth, scientists say there are several options. One of the option is called genetic engineering. With this procedure, scientists will take the genetic information of the extinct creature and identify a living creature that is related to the extinct animal. Scientists will then alter the living specie’s DNA to match that of the extinct one.
Another option could be cloning. Scientists can also clone extinct creatures back into life. “Just the study of ancient DNA only broke onto the scene 20 years ago or so. The idea that we could harvest DNA from extinct creatures, from fossil bones, learn something about the past,” according to Sean Carroll, who is a professor of molecular biology and genetics at the University of Wisconsin.
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Tags: 60 minutes, ancient dna, animal scientists, cbs, earth scientists, extinct animal, extinct creatures, extinct species, fossil bones, fossils, genetic engineering, genetic information, genetics, molecular biology, science, specie, university of wisconsin