A new company is trying to bring back the woolly mammoth. Expect 'tons of trouble' along the way.

A new company announced Monday that it's aiming to genetically resurrect the woolly mammoth, an oft-talked about endeavor that some scientists think could help fight climate change. The goal is to turn frozen tundra in Siberia back into grasslands, which can serve as effective carbon sinks.
But Colossal's plan will undoubtedly raise many questions about the ethics of bringing back the ancient giants from the dead. "There's tons of trouble everyone is going to encounter along the way," Beth Shapiro, a paleogeneticist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, told The New York Times.
Some of the main concerns have to do with the fact that mammoths have been extinct for thousands of years. Therefore, scientists may not know enough about their behavior, which means the animals — if Colossal or some other entity is ever indeed successful at bringing them back, which is far from a given — could suffer.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
For example, at the beginning at least, the mammoths wouldn't have mothers, Heather Browning, a philosopher at the London School of Economics, pointed out. And if the species was "anything like elephants," they would have had "extraordinarily strong infant-mother bonds that last for a very long time," she told the Times. That leaves Browning wondering who will look after the mammoths once they're on the ground. Read more at The New York Times.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the name of Heather Browning.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
5 editorial cartoons about ICE raids
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on ICE raids, harvesting Big Macs for Donald Trump, and what to do when Stephen Miller shows up at the front door
-
Grilled radicchio with caper and anchovy sauce recipe
The Week Recommends Smoky twist on classic Italian flavours is perfect to grill, drizzle and devour
-
What we know about Iran's nuclear programme
In the Spotlight The global nuclear watchdog has declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in 20 years
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study finds
Speed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
-
Breakthrough gene-editing treatment saves baby
speed read KJ Muldoon was healed from a rare genetic condition
-
Sea lion proves animals can keep a beat
speed read A sea lion named Ronan beat a group of college students in a rhythmic dance-off, says new study
-
Humans heal much slower than other mammals
Speed Read Slower healing may have been an evolutionary trade-off when we shed fur for sweat glands
-
Novel 'bone collector' caterpillar wears its prey
Speed Read Hawaiian scientists discover a carnivorous caterpillar that decorates its shell with the body parts of dead insects
-
Scientists find hint of alien life on distant world
Speed Read NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected a possible signature of life on planet K2-18b
-
Katy Perry, Gayle King visit space on Bezos rocket
Speed Read Six well-known women went into lower orbit for 11 minutes
-
Scientists map miles of wiring in mouse brain
Speed Read Researchers have created the 'largest and most detailed wiring diagram of a mammalian brain to date,' said Nature