[laredo44]

My point is simply that science has utterly failed to cure the common cold or the flu. Consequently, your faith that medical technology would certainly and quickly respond to unknown illnesses hosted by resurrected species is misplaced.

Maybe the the attempt to revive the mammoth will advance medical understanding in a way that facilitates cures for the common cold and the flu. Not every unintended consequence is negative, perhaps not even most. Undoubtedly, AG Bell never foresaw the Internet whizzing around the wires he devised for voice transmission.

[The Great Yazoo]

Not every unintended consequence is negative, perhaps not even most. Undoubtedly, AG Bell never foresaw the Internet whizzing around the wires he devised for voice transmission.

I would never argue against expanding the frontiers of human knowledge. I don't, for example, fret much about such things as genetically modified agricultural products or nuclear energy.

Having said that, replicating the DNA of once-extinct creatures makes me nervous. I am not so certain of the abilities of medical science to deal with things that could go wrong. I have even less faith in the political and legal systems to do anything more than provide redress (if you can call "redress" getting judgments against bankrupt entities) if things go wrong.