Scientists Aim to Revive the Woolly Mammoth

No progress is good progress, that about it? Were you peeing your pants when the first astronauts came back from the moon? Could have contaminated the planet with moon germs. Seriously.

Okay, I seriously think you are reading a whole lot into a very little, maybe with a little projection thrown in for good measure. Seriously, its not like I said we should all go live with the Amish. My comment was merely meant to seriously suggest that a little care be taken before we go around creating entirely new species of animal.

I am actually quite seriously in favor of scientific advancement. I seriously support exploration in a physical sense such as outer space exploration -- in fact, I wish Bush's Mars initiative was a lot more ambitious and seriously well-funded.

I also seriously support scientific exploration in terms of experimentation, research and discovery. The benefits that have come from pushing the boundaries of the scientific world are innumerable. Seriously.

I am just suggesting that perhaps we should seriously think about what unintended consequences might arise from this particular avenue of experimentation.

I think, as the comments of a lot of others here show, that that concern is perfectly rational. Seriously.

I would have to say that the risks to humans is probably quite small.

And when they recreate a carnivorous dinosaur that's larger than today's largest land carnivore? How will these animals be treated when they become ill or injured, particularly the larger, more aggressive ones?

Scientific progress has never been constrained by fear of risk. Throughout history great men have taken monumental risks in the name of science. There's nothing illogical about it. To be able to successfully clone extinct species of complex, multicellular organisms would be a scientific breakthrough of the highest order.

Well, of course it would be a scientific breakthrough but to what end? To bring back a species to conditions unnatural to it? What natural science will we learn from creatures who have no natural parents or background to learn from?

As far as wasteful? See my post# 124..

I saw it. There are plenty of other scientific endeavors aside from AIDS that require funding. Non-embryonic stem cell research comes to mind. On the zoological side, what about the creatures that are presently in the lowest depths of the ocean? Why are we more interested in extinct species, rather than in discovering present-day species? Perhaps even species only thought to be extinct?

I'm not against scientific progress. I just think we need to carefully consider that just because we can do something doesn't always mean that we should. Knowledge is only as good as the wisdom that applies it.

Scientists with the Mammoth Creation Project hope to find a frozen woolly mammoth specimen with sperm DNA. The sperm DNA would then be injected into a female elephant; by repeating the procedure with offspring, a creature 88 percent mammoth could be produced within fifty years.

Why in the hell would be even attempted?? It would work better is they injected the sperm DNA into Hillary Clinton. She has the perfect sized thunder thighs to be about to carry the fetus mammoth.

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