Japanese scientists 'reawaken' cells of woolly mammoth

By Gamze Turkoglu Oguz</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Scientists in Japan have ‘awakened’ the 28,000-year-old cells of an ancient woolly mammoth, taking them one step closer to bringing the extinct animals back to life.</p> <p>Yuka, a preserved mammoth, was discovered nine years ago in northern Siberia’s frozen permafrost wasteland, according to the ScienceAlert website.</p> <p>Scientists are now engaged in implanting Yuka's well-preserved cell nuclei into the egg cells of mice.</p> <p>Kei Miyamoto, a genetic engineer from Kindai University, said cell activity could happen and parts of it could be recreated even though a remarkable amount of time has passed.</p> <p>The scientists suggested that further functions such as DNA replication and transcription could be induced by activating less-damaged samples.</p> <p>Miyamoto said that once they obtain cell nuclei in better condition, experiments on cell division could be carried out in the future.</p> <p>He added, however, that there is a long way to go before the world could see a resurrection of the species.</p> <p> * Gozde Bayar contributed to this story from Ankara