Russian and South Korea scientists have teamed up to recreate a woolly mammoth – a prehistoric creature that last walked the earth some 4,500 years ago.
The deal was signed on Tuesday by Vasily Vasiliev, of North-Eastern Federal University of the Sakha Republic and stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-Suk of South Korea’s Sooam Biotech Research Foundation, AFP revealed.
The team aim to get to work on thawed remains of the extinct mammal recovered after global warming thawed Siberia’s permafrost.
The mammoth’s tissues are to be cloned by using eggs taken from a modern Indian elephant, the Korea Herald reported.
Once the tissues have undergone a nuclear transfer process, the eggs will be implanted into the womb of a live elephant.
Hwang lost face in the international scientific community in 2005 when his breakthrough human cloning research involving embryonic stem cells was found to have been faked.
He is also responsible for creating the world's first cloned dog, Snuppy, in 2005, an achievement which was independently confirmed.
Last year Hwang and his team unveiled eight cloned coyotes in October last year.
Sooam specialises in dog cloning, and claims: “Cloning technology is possible at Sooam for any dog no matter its age, size, and breed. Sooam not only performs dog cloning research, but we also heal the broken hearts.”