(Image source: Wired UK )
BY VERONICA POLIVANAYA
ANCHOR LAUREN ZIMA
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Jurassic Park comes to life -- sort of. A team of Russian scientists resurrected a plant a few years ago that’s been extinct for 32,000 years. Their findings were just published Tuesday. Yahoo News explains.
“Remnants of the blossom were found perfectly preserved in Siberia because a squirrel buried it in a burrow under the permafrost. So, for thousands of years, the flower was fully encased in ice.”
The scientists used growth hormones to revive the plant’s tissue until it began to flower. It is the oldest plant ever to be revived. But some are demanding more proof. The New York Times quotes one researcher.
“Eske Willerslev, an expert on ancient DNA at the University of Copenhagen, said the finding was ‘plausible in principle,’ given the conditions in permafrost. But the claim depends on the radiocarbon date being correct.”
Correct or not, the Russian scientists want to see how far they can push the boundaries of resurrection.
Tecca quotes one of them.
STANISLAV GUBIN: “If we are lucky, we can find some frozen squirrel tissue. This path could lead us all the way to the mammoth.”
An opinion writer for Discover Magazine can’t wait to see what other treasures scientists uncover in similar areas.
ED YONG: “Siberia, Alaska and the Yukon could act as one massive freezer, where ancient life has been stored, waiting to greet the world again.”
But a writer for the Telegraph sees no point in dwelling in the past.
TOM CHIVERS: “This isn’t in any foreseeable future, going to lead to a world of extinct species reborn – or of endangered species being saved from the brink…If there’s no where for our painstakingly cloned pterodactyl (or whatever) to live, then it’s of limited use bringing back to life, although it may lead to interesting new exhibits in a few zoos.”
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