Could we bring the woolly mammoth back to life? Scientists say they have reached milestone in efforts to clone the hairy beast

Team of Russian and South Korean scientists aim to bring the woolly mammoth

back from the dead

Say they have reached the 'initial stage' in efforts to clone hairy beast, which last

walked the Earth 10,000 years ago

Tourists will be able to watch scientists at work at the World Mammoth Centre in

Yakutsk - the world's coldest city

By Will Stewart In Moscow for MailOnline

Published: 06:03 EST, 29 July 2016 | Updated: 07:52 EST, 29 July 2016

The fictitious resurrection of dinosaurs captured our imaginations at the cinema, but the

quest to bring the extinct woolly mammoth back to life, has begun in real life.

An international team of scientists has reached the 'initial stage' in efforts to clone the hairy

beast, which last walked the Earth 10,000 years ago.

That's according to a cloning expert who has also claimed Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is

backing the Russian-South Korean bid to see the hairy monster tromp the Siberian ice once

more.

An international team of scientists has reached the 'initial stage' in efforts to clone the hairy beast, which

last walked the Earth 10,000 years ago. This image shows a remarkably well-preserved mammoth named

Yuka

A STEP TOWARDS RESURRECTION

In 2015, a huge step towards recreating the woolly mammoth was taken

by scientists who inserted more than a dozen of its genes into the live

DNA of an elephant.

Researchers studied the structure of DNA from mammoths preserved in

the Arctic to reproduce exact copies of 14 of the extinct animal's genes.

These were then integrated by Harvard University in Massachusetts into

the elephant genome - and functioned as normal DNA.

A new method known as 'Crispr' - helping scientists make accurate

changes to DNA - was used by genetics professor George Church, who

replaced parts of elephant DNA with the mammoth genes.

Their work is seen as an important step towards resurrecting the extinct

ice age animals. They claim the study could act as a guide to show how

modern elephants could be 're-engineered' to survive in Siberia.

It is also believed tourists visiting Russia will be able to watch scientists

at work at a new World Mammoth Centre in Yakutsk - the world's

coldest city.

Controversial South Korean cloning guru Professor Hwang Woo-Suk, who is working

closely with Russian experts, told The Siberian Times: 'As a result of tireless joint efforts,

we have achieved what we call the 'initial stage' on our way to recovering the mammoth.'

He did not detail the progress but said 'at this stage, thorough scientific checks are under

way.

'Once they are completed, we will publish the results in scientific journals.'

He is known to be working on genetic material obtained for the blood and soft tissue of

mammoths preserved for tens of thousands of years in the Siberian permafrost, which have

been dug up in recent years.

He said: 'Further studies' into cloning are already scheduled, adding: 'We continue the search

for new materials and samples. We need cells that can share information.

'If we could find a sample that is not only well preserved but also in which biochemical

processes can take place, we will be able to impregnate it with the help of the Asian elephant

materials.'

The professor leads the SOAAM Biotech Research Foundation in Seoul, which has an

agreement on joint cooperation with Russian scientists from Yakutsk's North Eastern

Federal University.

He did not put a timescale on when he hoped to see mammoths once roaming the tundra.

Professor Hwang said Putin's interest in his work was 'evident' and that the new World

Mammoth Centre, which will include underground laboratories built in the permafrost, will

bring the final cloning goal 'closer'.

One of his Russian collaborators scientist Semyon Grigoriev, said: 'There are two options for

mammoth cloning.

Controversial South

Korean cloning guru

Professor Hwang Woo-

Suk, who is working

closely with Russian

experts, said: 'As a

result of tireless joint

efforts, we have

achieved what we call

the 'initial stage' on our

way to recovering the

mammoth.' The experts

are trying to extract

DNA from the animal's

preserved tissues and

blood, (pictured) for

example

It's believed tourists

visiting Russia will be

able to watch scientists

at work at a new

World Mammoth

Centre in Yakutsk - the

world's coldest city.

Here, Professor

Hwang Woo-Suk with

a team of scientists

extract mammoth's

DNA

There is no timescale for when mammoths could once more roam the tundra. A model is pictured. The hairy

beasts died out in the majority of habitats 10,000 years ago, with experts diagreeing about whether climate

change or hunting was primarily to blame

'The first is through the search for active cells. The second option is artificial DNA

synthesis.'

Egor Borisov, head of the Sakha Republic region which is famed for diamonds as well as

mammoths, said tourists from around the world will be made welcome at the new complex

as scientists work to restore the ancient species.

Professor Hwang is a controversial figure and in 2006 was dismissed by Seoul National

University for faking groundbreaking work in stem cell research.

The university said he had damaged its and his country's reputation.

Yet he remains at the forefront of research into cloning and is leading research into seeking

the DNA of the woolly mammoth from remains of the creatures recovered eastern Russia.

He is also working on other extinct animals such as Siberian cave lions.

The mass death of mammoths began about 20,000 to 24,000 years ago but there is

continuing debate about that drove the impressive creatures to extinction, with some blaming

climate change and others overzealous human hunters.

The last major wave of deaths was about 9,000 to 12,000 years ago, although there is

evidence mammoths survived in small groups near Alaska and at Wrangel Island, in the

Russian Arctic, as recently as 3,700 years ago.

Professor

Hwang

Woo-Suk is

known to be

working on

genetic

material

obtained for

the blood

and soft

tissue of

mammoths

(pictured)

preserved

for tens of

thousands

of years in

the Siberian

permafrost,

which have

been dug up

in recent

years.

Professor

Hwang said:

'Further

studies' into

cloning are

already

scheduled,

adding: 'We

continue the

search for

new materials

and samples.

We need cells

that can share

information.'

Here, a team

of scientists

attempt to

extract

genetic

material from

flesh

A cloning

expert has

also claimed

Kremlin

leader

Vladimir

Putin

(pictured) is

backing the

Russian-South

Korean bid to

see the hairy

monster tromp

the Siberian

ice once more.

Scientist Semyon Grigoriev, said: 'There are two options for mammoth cloning. The first is through the search

for active cells. The second option is artificial DNA synthesis.' The research relies on extracting high quality

DNA from preserved mammoths like Yuka (pictured)

The mass death of mammoths began about 20,000 to 24,000 years ago but there is continuing debate about that

drove the impressive creatures to extinction, with some blaming climate change and others overzealous human

hunters. The remains of mammoth discovered in Siberia are shown above

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