Scientists use 'Jurassic Park' experiment to try to bring woolly mammoth back from the dead

By David Derbyshire
Last updated at 11:29 PM on 2nd May 2010

Woolly mammoths could one day walk the Earth again, it seems.

In an extraordinary Jurassic Park- style experiment, DNA from a frozen specimen of the extinct giant was used to reproduce their blood.

And it revealed that the beasts used more than their distinctive shaggy coats to keep warm in harsh Arctic conditions 25,000 years ago - they had antifreeze in their veins.

The scientists believe the genetic adaptation technique could be used to resurrect body parts and proteins from other extinct animals.

Researcher Prof Kevin Campbell-of the University of Manitoba, Canada, said: 'The molecules are no different than going back in time and taking a blood sample from a real mammoth.'

To recreate the blood, the scientists used DNA preserved in bones from frozen Siberian specimens up to 43,000 years old.

It was used alongside genetic information from their descendants, Asian elephants.

And this revealed the woolly mammoth's blood adapted to cope with the freezing conditions.

Its 'antifreeze blood' was able to carry oxygen around the body even at low temperatures, researchers told Nature Genetics journal.

This is thought to have evolved after mammoth ancestors moved from tropical Africa in an Ice Age.

Recreating a single prehistoric protein does not mean scientists can build a whole animal, though.

And because DNA is not preserved in fossils this technique is unlikely to be used on species that died out millions of years ago.

The project began seven years ago when Prof Campbell contacted the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at Adelaide University.

In the movie and novel Jurassic Park, DNA preserved in an insect trapped in amber millions of years ago is used to recreate dinosaurs.

Giant facts:

• Mammoths get their name from the Russia 'mammut', or earth mole.


• Until 300 years ago, their bones were often thought to belong to extinct races of giants.


• They were around 13ft tall, not much bigger than modern elephants. They were coated with shaggy hair up to 3ft long and a layer of wool next to their skin. They had tusks up to 16ft long.


• They probably died out as a result of climate change and hunting.

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