Scientists make breakthrough in the hope of resurrecting the woolly mammoth

Researchers have made a huge breakthrough that could resurrect the woolly mammoth before 2028.

Scientists from Colossal Biosciences have successfully created elephant ‘pluripotent’ stem cells which can grow into any cell in the body.

Co-founder and lead geneticist of Colossal has said the creation of these cells could “open the door” to bringing the mammoth back from extinction.

“It’s not a huge extrapolation to think that we’ll be able to synthesise on a large scale in the future,” he told the MailOnline.

Asian elephant iPSC colonies stained for pluripotency factors. / Credit: AP/Business Wire

But how would it work? In 2006, a scientist named Shinya Yamanaka discovered that you could use a chemical cocktail to trigger cells from adult animals to turn into stem cells, which have the ability to grow into any other type of cell.

This has already been done successfully in humans, rabbits, big cats, and even the northern white rhino, but never with an elephant.

Scientists behind the project plan to modify the cells with genes taken from a frozen woolly mammoth corpse.

They would then be induced to grow into an egg which could be fertilised and grown in an artificial womb.

Colossal hopes the resulting hybrid will help elephants thrive and repair damaged Arctic ecosystems.

Dr Church added: “What we’re doing is making a particular hybrid that will both enrich the Asian elephant and bring back the diversity of the mammoth.”

The team hope that the resulting hybrid will help elephants thrive and repair damaged Arctic ecosystems.

Asian elephants are classified as endangered by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).