The Lazarus Project

Really interesting article in the Science Times discussing the possibility of resurrecting animals that have been extinct for zillions of years! Or so. Including wooly mammoths and even Neanderthals, an early human species! I've always wondered what barriers were stopping scientists from carrying out such experiments, besides the ethical ones. It seemed so simple- if you have the DNA, then surely you can clone the animal that it represents. But no, it is not that easy! The DNA must be in "good shape" (which it usually isn't), decoded, not invaded by bacteria, and technology does not yet exist to synthesize a whole genome.

The article linked above discusses an alternative way of resurrecting these extinct species- not by synthesizing the genome, but by taking the DNA of a living relative and successively modifying this live DNA at all the places where it differs from the DNA of its ancient relative. For example, scientists can take the DNA of an elephant and modify it little by little (generation by generation) at the 400,000 sites where it differs from the DNA of the wooly mammoth, and then bring it to term at the last stage of modification inside a surrogate elephant mother. 

If this method works with the wooly mammoth, it would technically work for the Neanderthal. Can you imagine if yours was the DNA that was cloned in this manner hundreds of thousands of years into the future? 

Another thought: wouldn't it be cool if we found the remains of Jesus and resurrected him? (I mean Him.)

And hey!  Neanderthal specimen were discovered right here in the Zagros Mountains of Kurdistan! Inside the Shanidar cave site, 10 Neanderthal remains were found, two of which may indicate that Neanderthals ritually buried their dead, and one of which may indicate that they took care of their sick and injured.