Why bringing back the woolly mammoth isn’t a simple cloning job — scientists are solving a massive genetic engineering puzzle

Resurrecting the woolly mammoth might seem like a straightforward process: get some old DNA, clone it, and you will have a mammoth. Unfortunately, it is far from that easy.

DNA recovered from frozen mammoth remains is fragmented and incomplete. There is no whole cell of the mammoth that is ready for cloning.

But today, genetic material found in the permafrost is being used by scientists to discover what makes the mammoth different from the Asian elephant that is its closest living relative.


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Colossal Biosciences, which is a US-based biotech firm, is employing this technique in its effort to produce an elephant with some traits of the woolly mammoth.

These include characteristics linked to surviving extreme cold, such as thick hair, changes in fat storage and smaller ears.

Both artificial intelligence and machine learning have been applied in the process as well. However, these technologies are used to assist scientists in sifting through huge amounts of old genetic data rather than recreating an extinct species through some magical means.

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The project has also become more complicated since its early stages. Researchers initially estimated that dozens of genetic changes might be enough.

More recent figures from Colossal indicate that there are more than 150 genes involved.

This change shows why de-extinction of the mammoth differs from conventional cloning, but is more like building a biological machine from partial plans.

Ancient mammoth DNA cannot simply be turned into a clone

The first hurdle is one of the most basic: there is no complete mammoth genome sitting inside a perfectly preserved cell.

While mammoths had existed for thousands of years in Arctic conditions, their DNA decayed. Fragments of DNA can be extracted from bones, teeth and other preserved specimens, but they must be put together and analysed.

DNA sequences obtained from various mammoths can be compared with the DNA of the Asian elephant, which is the closest living relative of the mammoth. Colossal calculates that mammoths and elephants are genetically similar at around 99.6%.

It gives a good starting point.

Rather than sequencing the entire genome of the mammoth, researchers look for genetic variations that helped mammoths adapt to life in a cold climate.

These are genes that play an important role in hair development, fat deposits, metabolism, ears, and other physiological traits.

Thus, the suggested method is not conventional cloning.

Scientists try to change selected parts of the elephant DNA so that some mammoth features could be expressed by the elephant cells.

If the work eventually produces a living animal, it would not be a genetically identical woolly mammoth.

AI is helping scientists search through the mammoth genome

Because of the sheer volume of genetic data that is being studied, the project requires advanced computing capabilities to be manageable.

Scientists have genetic data for several mammoths; however, there are differences in the integrity and comprehensiveness of their genomes. Some fragments of DNA are degraded and hard to decode without comparing them with less degraded genomes.

And here comes the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Computational systems can work with numerous genetic codes, compare them, find differences between mammoths and elephants, and help scientists study mutations linked to specific biological features.

Colossal has announced that they analysed genomes of 59 woolly, Columbian and steppe mammoths, whose age spans from 3,500 years before present to over 1.2 million years ago.

The goal is not just to list all the differences between an elephant and a mammoth.

Most genetic differences would not necessarily be relevant to the traits scientists want to reproduce.

Instead, researchers need to narrow down the list.

Any useful genetic modification should theoretically have a known biological effect, like hair development or body fat storage. These hypotheses can be verified experimentally.

The help of AI will speed up the process, but AI alone will not be able to prove that a certain modification will lead to the required effect in the living organism. Experimental verification is necessary.

This is the reason why the project includes the study of ancient DNA, computational biology, gene editing and work with animal cells, and not cloning alone.

Woolly mice gave scientists a smaller test before elephants

Interacting with elephants is very problematic.

Elephants of Asia are endangered; their gestation period lasts about 22 months, and reproduction is slow. Thus, testing many combinations genetically on elephants would take much time and effort.

Researchers instead have a much faster experimental system available in the laboratory: mice.

In 2024, Colossal reported producing genetically modified mice carrying changes intended to reproduce several mammoth-associated characteristics. The mice developed features including longer, wavier hair, along with changes related to fat metabolism.

The experiment did not create miniature mammoths. Its purpose was to test whether particular genetic modifications could generate biological effects predicted by the researchers.

That distinction matters.

If a mutation appears promising in genetic analysis but fails to produce the expected trait in an animal model, scientists can reconsider the target before moving towards much more complicated elephant research.

The mice therefore served as a kind of experimental checkpoint.

The broader challenge remains considerably harder. A trait such as thicker hair may involve several genes and interactions between different biological systems. Modification of the DNA in question is not the sole difficulty.

There is also a need to see if the modified cells continue to function normally, if any unintended modifications are introduced and if several modifications are compatible with one another.

Moving from an edited laboratory cell to a healthy elephant embryo would introduce another set of challenges.

The mammoth project now involves far more genetic changes

One of the clearest signs of the project's complexity is the growing number of genetic targets.

Colossal initially estimated that it might need to modify roughly 60 to 65 genes to produce an elephant with important mammoth-like characteristics.

That estimate has since increased substantially. The company now says the number could exceed 150 genes.

Every additional genetic modification adds another layer of testing.

Scientists need to make sure that the intended DNA sequence has been altered correctly and that editing has not introduced unwanted changes elsewhere in the genome. They also have to determine whether the resulting cells behave normally.

Even successful cell editing would not automatically produce a living animal.

The edited genetic material would eventually have to contribute to an embryo capable of developing normally. Researchers would then face the biological and ethical challenges associated with elephant reproduction and pregnancy.

This is one reason the timeline has changed.

A calf resembling a mammoth was earlier mentioned by Colossal as one that could be created in 2028. However, the company’s CEO, Ben Lamm, now says that such an animal will more likely be born in the early 2030s.

Whether it will indeed be accomplished still remains unclear.

And even if an animal is eventually born, another question will remain: what exactly should it be called?

It would carry selected genetic characteristics recovered from an extinct species, but it would not be a perfect copy of an animal that once walked across Ice Age Siberia.

The project is therefore better understood as an attempt to use genetic engineering to recreate selected mammoth biology in a living elephant.

The woolly mammoth disappeared thousands of years ago.

Nevertheless, its DNA still holds some information about how it evolved to survive in a frozen environment. Scientists are now endeavouring to decode those instructions from this information.

The tricky thing here is that the instructions are not complete – scientists are only now starting to learn which parts really matter.

Frequently asked questions

1. Is it true that scientists clone woolly mammoths?

No, there are no living cells of mammoths. Scientists are trying to study genes responsible for certain traits of the mammoth and change them in the genes of elephant cells.

2. What animal is being used for reproducing mammoth traits?

The Asian elephant is the main material because it is the closest living relative of the woolly mammoth. Scientists are trying to find differences in genes between the two species.

3. How is AI used in the project about the mammoth?

AI helps to analyse large amounts of ancient DNA and compare genomes of the two animals to find differences in genes related to mammoth characteristics. However, it is still necessary to conduct laboratory experiments to prove the connection between changes in genes and their traits.

4. When would the first animal similar to a mammoth be created?

Earlier, Colossal mentioned the date of 2028, but according to CEO of Colossal Ben Lamm, it is rather the early 2030s. The timeframe is still based on the resolution of several issues.