The cells, tissues and genome of extinct animals of the Quaternary period will be studied by leading experts from around the world in the joint laboratory of the North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU) and the Korean laboratory SOAAM as part of the Mammoth Revival project. The goal of scientists is to revive extinct species of animals and birds.
Fundraising has now begun to support a mammoth cloning research project. Scientists rely not only on "traditional" sponsorship, but also on fundraising, according to the University's Mammoth Museum.
-Presentation of the project "Revival of the mammoth" will take place at the end of autumn this year. At this stage, fundraising began for the creation of an international scholarship named after Pyotr Alekseevich Lazarev, who had worked for a long time at the university and founded a school of paleontology in Yakutia. The scholarship is designed to attract promising young specialists to paleontological and paleogenetic research, regardless of the place of study and country of residence.
Evgeniya Argunova, Head of the Department of Investments and Innovations, NEFU
-The funds that will go to this fund should go to paleontological research and a scholarship named after P. A. Lazarev to young researchers in the field of paleontology of the Quaternary period.
Semyon Grigoriev, Head of the Mammoth Museum, NEFU
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Joint expeditions to search for the remains of a mammoth and other ancient fossils have been completed, now scientists are beginning to analyze the collected materials. Some samples will be exported to Korea for study. Now researchers are preparing to open a laboratory for the isolation of "living cells" of ancient fossils, on which the future cloning of the mammoth depends.
-By the end of the year, the first biotechnological laboratory of the first stage in Yakutia will operate, where cells of fossil animals will be studied. The study of the state and quality of biotechnological material will be carried out here. Upon obtaining "living cells" further research - attempts at cloning - will be carried out in Korea, because this is a super difficult task that only experienced Korean scientists can handle.
Semyon Grigoriev, Head of the Mammoth Museum, NEFU
The success of this project will make it possible to move from specific population studies to more fundamental studies on model organisms. For example, it will be possible to study the mechanisms of regeneration and aging, the use of various types of stem cells in the treatment of cancer.
In addition, it will be possible to carry out almost any research related to cell growth, analysis of nucleic acids and proteins.
-This project is not a short-term one. We signed the contract for five years with the possibility of prolongation. If we manage to find a living cell, it will still take years to resurrect the mammoth. We are at the very beginning of the journey, and in order to achieve this goal, many new techniques will need to be developed. In any case, work in this direction will help the development of biology throughout the world.
Semyon Grigoriev, Head of the Mammoth Museum, NEFU
-Today, the laboratory "Museum of Mammoth NEFU" possesses the world's largest collection of frozen remains of extinct mammoth fauna. The frozen state and good preservation of tissues will make it possible to study new findings from the standpoint of the development of modern science, using the latest molecular biological methods, including cloning technologies.
Evgeniya Argunova, Head of the Department of Investments and Innovations, NEFU
The agreement on scientific and technical cooperation on the SOAAM project and the NEFU "Revival of the Mammoth" was signed in September 2012, when, when summing up the results of the international paleontological expedition "Yana-2012", it was announced that in the found soft and adipose tissues, wool, mammoth bone marrow may contain cells that can be brought back to life.
After that, during 2013, NEFU paleontologists found several more times the preserved internal organs and tissues of the giants of the Ice Age, including the brain.