Back From the Dead

Woolly mammoths died out 10,000 years ago. But a group of scientists hope to bring them back. The scientists plan to use mammoth DNA to clone a woolly mammoth. Normally, that would be a problem. How can you get DNA from an animal that is extinct? But then a dead mammoth was discovered. Its body was very well preserved. Scientists hope to extract DNA from the mammoth's blood or flesh. A modern-day elephant could carry the mammoth until birth. But then where would the mammoth live? Mammoths roamed a huge area called Northern Siberia. It was a vast grassland during the time of mammoths. But the grass is mostly gone now. Scientists think the mammoths themselves would solve that problem. The mammoths would eat what grass is left. Then they would spread grass seeds in their dung. Grass would grow on the now frozen tundra where mammoths once lived. Only one question remains. Can mammoths fit into the modern world? There's no assurance of that.