Woolly mammoth could roam again as extinct DNA merged with elephant

Harvard University spliced recreated genes from a woolly mammoth into the DNA of an elephant and found they functioned normally

A major step forward in bringing back the woolly mammoth has been taken by scientists at Harvard University who have inserted DNA from the extinct mammal into the genetic code of an elephant.

Geneticists have studied DNA from mammoths which were preserved in Arctic permafrost looking for genes which separated them from elephants, such as hairiness and ear size.

They then replicated the genes and spliced them into the genetic code of an elephant where they functioned normally.

It is the first time that mammoth genes have been alive for more than 3,300 years - although so far it has only been done in the lab.

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