{"id":254506,"date":"2023-11-05T05:08:45","date_gmt":"2023-11-05T10:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/weekly-reads-mammoth-de-extinction-update-space-babies-alzheimers-mscs-dont-help-knees-the-niche\/"},"modified":"2023-11-05T14:33:35","modified_gmt":"2023-11-05T19:33:35","slug":"weekly-reads-mammoth-de-extinction-update-space-babies-alzheimers-mscs-dont-help-knees-the-niche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/weekly-reads-mammoth-de-extinction-update-space-babies-alzheimers-mscs-dont-help-knees-the-niche\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly reads: Mammoth De-extinction update, space babies, Alzheimer’s, MSCs don’t help knees – The Niche","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s more important than Woolly Mammoth de-extinction research in the stem cell arena? Only maybe a 10,000 other things.<\/p>\n

Still, the mammoth de-extinction efforts  capture people\u2019s attention much more than the average research story.<\/p>\n

\"George
George Church with Mammoth bone as part of de-extinction effort. Photo by Church lab member Eriona Hysolli.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mammoth De-extinction update<\/h2>\n

Is de-extinction only a pipette dream? This startup has a big, expensive plan to find out,<\/a> Popular Science<\/em>.<\/strong> I\u2019ve written before about George Church\u2019s project to bring back Woolly Mammoths<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

I still think it\u2019s a lousy plan even if it\u2019s fun to think about in a bubble but not in the real world. In reality, there are many ugly outcomes possible.<\/p>\n

It might be a moot point because the way things are going so slowly, there\u2019s a solid chance this particular de-extinction will never happen. George and I might need to be de-extincted ourselves by the time a real Woolly Mammoth could be brought back.<\/p>\n

The firm Colossal Biosciences keeps \u2018watering down\u2019 the creature it might create to the point it wouldn\u2019t be a Mammoth.  No tusks. limited Mammoth DNA, etc. Probably more like an odd, maybe sickly hybrid elephant.  Bad idea.<\/p>\n

Other recommended reads<\/h2>\n