Chinese experts: mammoth resurrection is impossible to fully resurrected mammoth | | | _ genetic technology news
"Let the mammoths completely resurrection was impossible, but modern Asian elephants have many characteristics of the mammoth, less likely to survive in the wild. "When a researcher at the Nanjing Institute of geology and palaeontology, Yuan Xunlai when you see this message, saying:" this is just to test the gene technology, humans are capable of. ”
Recently, some media reports, the Harvard research team is "anti-genocide" genetic research: obtaining frozen mammoth DNA from Siberia, Russia, using gene-editing technologies, fusing them to next of kin in Asian elephant genome to create hybrid embryos, made in two years. In other words, if succeed, scientists will be showing the world include small ears, have subcutaneous fat, woolly and mammoth cold tolerance characteristics of "new" elephants.
Engaged in "early origin of life and evolution of the Earth and environmental context" research, and serves as the biological evolution of popular science magazine editor Yuan Xunlai believes that while mammoths and Asian elephants, African elephants are close relatives, but resurrected mammoths to enhance the modern elephant gene and no clear benefit.
Yuan Xunlai told reporters that the enlarged time scale, every species on Earth after 2.003 billion, mostly died out. "This is a very normal natural phenomenon, is the so-called perennial, living death, die life. ”
In his view, wanted to establish a gene bank, requires a considerable amount of stocks it, and current resurrected mammoths only a laboratory study, not only impossible to completely replicate the mammoths of the ice age, are less likely to have the ability to survive in today's environment. "In the wild, perhaps a year or two are dead. ”
Nanjing Institute of geology and palaeontology, Dr Ma Junye praise. "Very interesting, this is the latest in biotechnology and now the times recently, the most perfect combination of magical creatures, I think there is hope that success! ”
Ma Junye told reporters has long been engaged in research on molecular evolution, the experimental difficulties mainly in genetic technology. While international scientific team known as won a mammoth in the Siberian permafrost soft fatty tissue, hair and bone marrow, but their genetic traits, integrity, cannot be likened to the genome of modern biological extracts, even through the technical manual repair of genes, is feasible in theory, but in practice, there are still unknown.
"Resurrection of the disappearing species has been precedent, once the technology is mature, it can be extended to other species. "Ma Junye said. By analysing and comparing the genetic material of modern elephants and mammoth, so that you can study the evolutionary rate of elephants.
Scientific studies have confirmed that the gene and its regulation has an important role in biological evolution. However, once exposed to environmental disasters (giant), is often difficult to make substantial changes adapted behemoth of the extinction of the dinosaurs is a real tragic case.
However, the resurrected mammoths in the laboratory does not change the nature of the extinction of Earth's species, biological evolution does not have particular value in the study of meaning, "we can't make it come alive."
"Curiosity is driving scientific progress of human beings significant reason", Yuan Xun to bluntly said, "did a lot to speed up the extinction of mankind, now curious about those species disappear. Development of modern genetic engineering techniques, proven human complacency, not only has the ability to extinction, or be able to revive the species. "(Journal of science and technology, Nanjing, February 19)
>: Tang Liu Debin SN222
Article keywords:Mammoth resurrection of gene technology
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中国专家：猛犸象完全复活是不可能的|猛犸象|复活|基因技术_新闻资讯
“让猛犸象完全复活是不可能的，只是让现代亚洲象具备许多猛犸象的特征，更不可能在野外生存。”当中科院南京地质古生物所袁训来研究员看到这个消息时，调侃地说到：“这只是用来检验基因技术，显得人类很有能耐。”
近日，有媒体报道，哈佛大学研究团队正在开展“反灭绝”基因研究：先从俄罗斯西伯利亚取得冰封长毛象的DNA，再利用基因编辑技术，将它们融合到近亲亚洲象的基因组中，以制作混种胚胎，预计两年内制成。也就是说，若培育成功，科学家们将向世人展示包括小耳朵、拥有皮下脂肪、长毛及耐冷等长毛象特征的“新型”大象。
长期从事“地球早期生命起源、演化和环境背景”的研究，并担任《生物进化》科普杂志主编的袁训来认为，虽然猛犸象与亚洲象、非洲象是近亲，但是复活猛犸象对于增强现代大象基因并没有明显的好处。
袁训来告诉记者，把时间尺度放大后来看，地球上每一个物种生存200—300万年后，大多灭绝了。“这是非常正常的自然现象，正所谓生生不息，有生有死、有死有生。”
他认为，想要建立一个基因库，需要一个相当数量的种群才行，而目前所进行的复活猛犸象只是实验室的一项研究而已，不仅不可能完全复制出冰川时代的猛犸象，更不可能使其具有在当今自然环境中生存的能力。“放在野外环境中，说不定一两年就都死了。”
中科院南京地质古生物所马俊业博士则为此点赞。“挺有意思的，这是最新的生物技术与距今时代最近、最神奇生物的完美结合，我认为有希望获得成功！”
长期从事分子演化研究的马俊业告诉记者，这项实验的难点主要还是在基因技术上。虽然国际科学团队号称在西伯利亚永久冻土中获得了猛犸象的软体脂肪组织、毛发和骨髓，但是其基因性状、完整度等都无法与现代生物中提取的基因组相提并论，即使通过技术对基因进行人工修补，理论上是可行的，但是在实践中还是未知数。
“让消失物种的复活还没有过先例，一旦这项技术成熟，便可推广到其它物种上。”马俊业说。通过分析对比猛犸象与现代大象的遗传物质，进而可以研究大象的进化速率等。
科学研究已经证实，基因及其调控在生物进化上具有重要作用。但是，一旦遭遇到环境灾（巨）变，往往难以进行大幅度的改变与适应，庞然大物恐龙的灭绝就是一个活生生的悲惨案例。
但是，在实验室复活猛犸象并不能改变地球物种灭绝的自然规律，在生物进化研究方面并不具备特别有价值的意义，“我们不可能让它活起来”。
“好奇心是驱动人类科学进步的重要原因”，袁训来不客气地说到：“人类干了很多加速物种灭绝的事情，现在又对那些消失的物种充满好奇。现代基因工程技术的发展，让人类可以沾沾自喜地证明，不仅有能力灭绝物种，也有能力复活物种。”（科技日报南京2月19日电）
>责任编辑：刘德宾 SN222
文章关键词： 猛犸象 复活 基因技术
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