Mammoth step: Dead rat revived after 16 yrs

[HarryKuntz]

Experts plan to restore species like the mammoth applying the same technique used on rats

TOKYO: Scientists at the government-backed research institute Riken used the dead cell of a mouse that had been preserved at minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit) — a temperature similar to frozen ground.

The scientists hope that the first-of-a-kind research will pave the way to restore extinct animals such as the mammoth.

The scientists extracted a cell nucleus from an organ of the dead mouse and planted it into an egg of another mouse which was alive, leading to the birth of the cloned mouse, the researchers said.

“The newly developed technology of nucleus transfer greatly improved the possibility of reviving extinct animals,” the research team led by Teruhiko Wakayama said in a statement. “Even though reviving extinct animals is often described in films and novels — such as in Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park — it had in reality been impossible,” they said.

Cells from dead bodies have previously been useless as they are ruined in the freezing process. But Wakayama’s team discovered a way to extract a nucleus intact from a frozen cell by grinding cell tissues into multiple pieces.The cloned mouse was able to reproduce with a female mouse, it added. But the researchers said tough challenges
remain ahead in terms of how to restore extinct animals, which would require breeding with animals that are still alive. To revive a mammoth, researchers would need to find a way to implant a cell nucleus of a mammoth into the egg of an elephant and then implant the embryo into an elephant’s uterus, it said.The elephant is the closest modern relative of the mammoth.

Earlier this year, a report by the European Union warned that cloning can threaten the health of livestock.

South Korea’s parliament has passed a law to regulate research into cloning, following a scandal in which a now disgraced expert falsely claimed to have made the first human clone stem cells.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1203484

[HarryKuntz]

Reminds of that film the boys from brazil!

One step closer to successful cryogenics!

[jack,jackson]

I cant wait to visit Jurassic park.

[johndoe]

They didn't "revive" anything - they merely extracted genetic material from a dead, frozen mouse to clone a new one. This has nothing at all to do with reviving or cryogenics.

Still a nice accomplishment, but not such a huge deal. It's yet to be seen what the "quality" of the cloned mouse is. Clones in general are extremely unhealthy, and I'd imagine that with additional DNA damage from being frozen they'd be barely survivable.

[HarryKuntz]

[QUOTE=johndoe;105589]They didn't "revive" anything - they merely extracted genetic material from a dead, frozen mouse to clone a new one. This has nothing at all to do with reviving or cryogenics.
QUOTE]

From what I've read in the newspapers about this, they did revive some frozen cells from the brain of the dead mouse and then used them for the cloning process. Although it wasn't the "whole" mouse which was revived, it's still a small step closer to sucessful cryogenic revival.

I believe the full story was print in The Daily Mail on either Mon 3/11/08 or Tues 4/11/08 if you want to check it out.