Jurassic Park imagined a future in which it was possible to bring dinosaurs back to life. Now, that fiction may become reality as geneticists seek to resurrect the woolly mammoth.<\/p>\n
These Ice Age herbivores, whose closest living relatives are the Asian elephant, lived on several northern continents and had a thick, furry coat that protected against the extreme cold. The shaggy animals went extinct about 4,000 years ago, but the current revolution in genetics\u2014which is combating aging, eradicating diseases, and even allowing parents to create “designer babies”\u2014may change that. (Read how to resurrect lost species.)<\/p>\n
In his new book, Woolly: The True Story Of The Quest To Revive One Of History\u2019s Most Iconic Extinct Species, Ben Mezrich goes from the laboratory to the Siberian steppe as scientists explore the possibilities of reviving the woolly mammoth to its native lands\u2014and possibly, threatened ecosystems along with it.<\/p>\n
When National Geographic caught up with Mezrich by phone at his home in Boston, he explained why some people think woolly mammoths could help combat climate change\u2014and the ethical concerns behind these grand ambitions.<\/p>\n