Resurrecting the Mammoth - George Church

Decoding the human genome for the first time cost three billion dollars. Now, exploring the secrets locked in DNA costs just $1,000. Harvard geneticist Dr. George Church explains that there are endless applications for this capability, from genetic counseling that has helped eliminate Tay-Sachs Disease to potentially reducing HIV and delaying early-onset Alzheimer’s by decades. But one of the visceral applications of genetics is the possibility of bringing back animals that have been extinct for thousands of years, like the woolly mammoth. Church explains that the mammoth should be possible to recreate, because we have decoded its DNA, and it has a close living relative – the Asian elephant. Of course, Church has seen Jurassic Park, and acknowledges that working with large furry pachyderms is much safer than trying to bring back the various denizens of Jurassic Park fame.