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Scientists want to bring mammoths back to life

Woolly Mammoths - Level 0

Scientists will bring back woolly mammoths. They all died 4,000 years ago. It is like something from the movie Jurassic Park. Scientists will use mammoth DNA to clone the giant animal. A mammoth hasn't walked on the earth since the Ice Age. The goal is to create baby mammoths in the next four to six years.

A businessman gave $15 million for the research. He wants to return the mammoth to its Arctic home. He thinks the research will make our health care better. He said the project was like the Apollo missions to the moon. They led to technology like GPS. The businessman thinks the mammoth research will improve our lives.

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Woolly Mammoths - Level 1

Scientists want to bring back the woolly mammoth. It died out 4,000 years ago. The idea to bring it back is like the movie Jurassic Park. Scientists will use mammoth DNA from bones to clone the giant animal. It would be the first time since the Ice Age for a mammoth to walk on the earth. The lead scientist is an expert in DNA and genes. Ben Lamm, a businessman working on the project, said: "Our goal is to have our first calves in the next…six years."

Mr Lamm created a technology company and gave $15 million for this research. He wants to bring the mammoth back to life and return it to its Arctic home. Mr Lamm thinks new ideas will come from the research. This will make our health care better. He said the project was like the Apollo missions to the moon. They led to the development of technology such as GPS. Mr Lamm believes research into genes will improve our lives.

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Woolly Mammoths - Level 2

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Scientists want to bring back the woolly mammoth - an ancestor of the elephant. It became extinct 4,000 years ago. The idea to bring it back to life is like something from the movie Jurassic Park. Scientists will use the DNA from mammoth bones to clone the giant animal. It would be the first time since the Ice Age for a mammoth to walk on the earth. The lead scientist is a geneticist from Harvard. He is an expert in editing DNA and genes. Ben Lamm, a businessman working on the project, said: "Our goal is to have our first calves in the next four to six years."

Mr Lamm created a technology and software company and gave $15 million for this research. He said he has big plans to bring the mammoth back to life and to return it to its Arctic home. He also wants to revive other species. Mr Lamm believes the research will result in new ideas that will improve biotechnology and health care. Lamm said the project was like the Apollo missions to the moon. They led to the development of everyday products like freeze-dried food, and of technology such as GPS. Mr Lamm believes research into genes will also improve our lives.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Woolly Mammoths - Level 3

Scientists are working on bringing back the woolly mammoth. The giant creature is an ancestor of the Asian elephant. It became extinct over 4,000 years ago, but scientists and entrepreneurs want to bring it back to life. The idea is like something from the movie Jurassic Park. Scientists will use the DNA from the bones of a mammoth found in Siberia to revive the mammoth. They will also use cloning techniques. It would be the first time since the Ice Age for a mammoth to walk on the earth. The lead scientist is professor George Church, a geneticist from Harvard Medical School. He is an expert in gene editing. An entrepreneur, Ben Lamm, said: "Our goal is to have our first calves in the next four to six years."

Ben Lamm is founder of a technology and software company called Colossal. He has provided $15 million for the research to move forward. He said he has big plans to bring the mammoth back to life and to revive other species. He said he hoped to "rapidly advance the field of species de-extinction" and "to restore the woolly mammoth to the Arctic tundra". Mr Lamm believes the research will result in innovations that will benefit biotechnology and health care. Lamm compared the project to the Apollo missions to the moon. He said they made people excited about space. They led to the development of everyday products like freeze-dried food, and of technology such as GPS. Mr Lamm believes genetics will improve our lives.

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