Chroniques génomiques - La « dé-extinction » du mammouth laineux, un « Colossal » canular ?
Résumé
Reports of a mammoth cloning project on-going under George Church’s supervision appear periodically in the press. Close examination of the available evidence indicates that there is indeed such a project (carried out in a company called “Colossal”), but the aim is actually to modify the Asian elephant’s genome so that the resulting animal displays some significant cold-adaptation traits, could theoretically be reintroduced into Siberia, and would then (also theoretically) modify the biotope towards its initial state of a steppe rather than a tundra. This endeavour seems largely unfeasible, but it may trigger important methodological advances that probably explain its ability to attract significant capital investment.
Pour citer ce document
Jordan, Bertrand ; La « dé-extinction » du mammouth laineux, un « Colossal » canular ? : Chroniques génomiques, Med Sci (Paris), Vol. 38, N° 5 ; p. 480-483 ; DOI : 10.1051/medsci/2022046