Extinction Will No Longer Be A Death Sentence
Scientists have already sequenced the mammoth’s genetic material, and now, they hope to be able to convert modern Asian elephants into mammoths by means of CRISPR. And dinosaur resear`cher Jack Horner from the Montana State University in the US aims even higher. He plans to turn back evolution 150+ million years to revive the ancestors of birds: dinosaurs. Chickens still carry dormant dinosaur genes, and CRISPR allows scientists to revive those genes. If they succeed, Jurassic Park may soon become
RECREATE CLAWS
In birds, the bones of the hand are joined, and the claws are hidden under the feathers. By preventing the bones from joining, scientists can create birds with dinosaur hands.
WRECK FEATHERS
In early bird ancestors, the feathers were very primitive and probably only used to keep warm and attract mates. Targeted mutations could bring birds back to this stage.
SHAPE THE SNOUT
Chickens have pointed beaks, whereas dinosaurs had more rounded snouts. Scientists have already shown that they can provide chicken embryos with round snouts by halting specific proteins in the embryo's skull.
PRODUCE TEETH
In rare cases, chickens grow teeth in the embryonic stage, indicating that they still have dormant genes for teeth, which scientists could activate by means of CRISPR.
MAKE TAIL LONGER
Unlike their ancestors, birds have short tails with joined caudal vertebrae. Scientists have provided mice with longer tails, and now, they aim to do the same to birds.
MAKE CALF BONE LONGER
The calf bone of birds is much shorter than the neighbouring bone, the shin bone. In bird ancestors, the bones were the same length. In 2016, Chilean scientists created chicken embryos with same length bones.