An illustration of a family of Woolly Mammoths grazing on what is left of the grasses as winter approaches in this ice age scene. (Aunt_Spray) (Credit: iStock) (Aunt_Spray)
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Woolly mammoths have been extinct for more than 4,000 years, but with new gene-editing techniques, they could help mitigate the effects of a modern problem: climate change.
Most of the hype so far has focused on bringing these shaggy beasts back to life using their permafrost-preserved DNA. But this time, scientists aren’t aiming for a “Jurassic Park” scenario — they’re not trying to bring back entire mammoths exactly as they were in the last ice age. Rather, they’re hoping to mingle some of the mammoths’ ancient genes with those of today’s Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), to increase the elephants’ tolerance to the cold, said George Church, a Harvard and…
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Exposing the Big Game 
I had read this elsewhere, and I hoped and prayed it was fake news. How does anyone know that Asian elephants will need to adapt to cold? Drought, rising temps, without ivory, might show some promise. People need to quit meddling – these poor animals are in enough danger as it is. I always wish we’d take the killer genes out of humans – but apparently that would be unethical, to meddle with human genes.