Japanese scientists have produced clones of mice that were dead and frozen for 16 years. Researchers hope the feat will allow them to resurrect previously extinct species, such as the mammoth.Until now, scientists have only been able to produce clones using cells from live animals. This is how researchers created Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult animal.
Researchers thought that frozen cells were unusable because ice crystals would have damaged the DNA. But the latest research, published in Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences, shows that scientists may have overcome the obstacle.
Biological researchers in Kobe, Japan used cells from mice that had been frozen at for 16 years at -4 degrees Fahrenheit. The frozen environment is reasonably close to permafrost conditions, where frozen mammoths have been previously found.
Scientists extracted the nucleus and injected it into eggs whose DNA had been removed. Several steps later, the scientists were able to clone the mice.
