Mammoth Project: Texas Company Wants to Bring Back What Extinct Animal?

Paleontology shows us some pretty crazy stuff, like how certain things occurred, big moments that changed the course of history, and even what our world was like before humans showed up and started paving over it.

Through various branches of research, we've seen what these magnificent creatures likely looked like. But what about the idea of bringing these animals back? It's been an idea that we've seen play out in multiple movies and shows.

Most of the time, it doesn't really work out the way we expect it to.

Get our free mobile app

Which is why news from CBS Boston might be alarming to some. According to the article, Texas-based Colossal Biosciences has joined forces with Harvard researchers to bring back the wooly mammoth.

The reasoning for bringing back the mammoth? To help fight climate change, and stop permafrost from melting and releasing toxins into the atmosphere.

(Now both you and I know that permafrost is in danger of rapid melting. Moving on...)

Permafrost melting is not good for the planet, so this project is in the planning stages to hopefully help keep permafrost more permanent. Both Colossal and Church have already decided where to put the Mammoths as well, in an undisclosed area in Siberia.

This plan seems pretty crazy, though. The idea is that the mammoths would knock down certain trees, promote the grown of prairies grasses that better trap and store CO2, and stamp snow over permafrost to keep it insulated.

Yeesh.

While all of the planning seems to be in order, there are many that still don't think this is a good idea. I am on the side of not reviving these prehistoric animals. However, the CEO of Colossal, Ben Lamm, is confident everything will work out fine.

In his comments to CBS Boston, Lamm stated of the plan: "We are in the world of synthetic biology. These tools exist. It's hard to put the genie back in the bottle. We need to be really thoughtful about the intended and unintended consequences of our actions."

If it's alright with everybody, I'll just stick to looking at the Mammoths at the National Monument in Waco. It seems safer honestly.

If all of this talk of bringing extinct animals back from the dead to carry out green initiatives we could probably just engineer some machines for has you as worried as me, maybe this report from Science will make you feel better. While the word "impossible" isn't one scientists like to use too often, many feel that resurrecting mammoths and other extinct animals could actually be impossible.

Let's hope so.