Japanese scientists are hot on the trail of the extinct wooly mammoth’s DNA, which is available from tissue preserved in Russia. What do they want to do with the DNA?
They want to clone it and, in about five years, make a modern mammoth.
Ryan Phelan of Revive & Restore would like to bring back the passenger pigeon, a bird that became extinct about 100 years ago.
Now it’s your turn: What do you think of scientists cloning and trying to bring back to life these extinct creatures?
Choose one of these writing prompts:
-Try your hand at a spine-tingling short story that features scientists cloning creatures or bringing them back from extinction.
-Or, if you prefer nonfiction, write a paragraph or two on one of these two topics:
1. What is your opinion of trying to bring back extinct creatures? Jot down three points and then choose your strongest one to write about in a paragraph.
2. If it were possible to bring back extinct creatures using DNA, what animal would you like to see revived? Write down the animal and then explain in a paragraph why you would like to see that one roaming the earth again.
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