Things I Like - Sciences

One of my favorite movies (and, in my opinion, one of the rare cases of a movie being as good as the book) is Jurassic Park. I thought that the idea of recreating dinosaurs on Earth using DNA found in fossils or other preserved remains was totally believable - keep in mind that the book came out in 1990, seven years before they cloned Dolly.

Guess what else came out in 1990? That would be The Human Genome Project, the effort to identify the gene sequences that make up human DNA. The project goal was essentially reached in 2003 with final papers published in 2006. The analysis of the data found as well as research issues that arose during the project will keep geneticists busy for years to come.

It seems that mapping the human genome was just a start. Per a November 28 article in the International Herald Tribune:

"Last week, the woolly mammoth came back. Into the news, that is. For it has had its genome sequenced, and is the first extinct animal to have done so."

~ Olivia Judson

While I think that the idea of going to see a woolly mammoth in the zoo one day would be interesting, I'm more excited about what this accomplishment means with respect to addressing the endangered species challenges we face today. I'm with Olivia, let's save what we have first before bringing back the dodo.

www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/home.shtml

www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/28/opinion/edjudson.php