What if you could go back in time to the year 25,000 b.c.? You’d see a world very different from the one we live in now.

    There would be no towns, cities, schools, or streets. There’s a good chance all you’d see for miles is ice and snow. Maybe you’d spot some humans around a fire. They’d be wrapped in fur and leather to stay warm. 

    This time period was part of the most recent Ice Age. And woolly mammoths were the kings. These furry, elephant-like creatures stomped through snow in some of the coldest parts of the world. They had long trunks and sharp, curved tusks. 

    The last of these furry giants died out about 4,000 years ago. But traces of them can still be found. In fact, entire mammoth bodies have been discovered in Canada and Siberia. (That’s an area in Russia with very cold temperatures.)

    Now scientists at a company called Colossal are trying to bring the woolly mammoth back to life. They hope to do it by 2027. 

    But is bringing back extinct creatures really a good idea?

    Imagine this: You are back in the year 25,000 b.c. The world is very different.

    There are no towns, cities, schools, or streets. All you see is ice and snow. Maybe you see some humans around a fire. They are wrapped in fur and leather to stay warm.

    This time period was part of the most recent Ice Age. Woolly mammoths were the kings. They were furry, elephant-like creatures. They lived in some of the coldest parts of the world. They had long trunks and sharp, curved tusks.

    The last of these giants died out about 4,000 years ago. But traces of them can still be found. And whole mammoth bodies have been discovered in Canada as well as Siberia. (That’s an area in Russia.)

    Now some scientists are trying to bring the woolly mammoth back to life. They hope to do it by 2027. The scientists work for a company called Colossal.

    But is bringing back extinct creatures a good idea?

    What if you could go back in time to the year 25,000 b.c.? You’d experience a world very different from the one we live in now.

    There would be no towns, cities, schools, or streets. There’s a good chance all you’d see for miles is ice and snow—though you might spot some humans wrapped in fur and leather, huddled around a fire to stay warm.

    The time period you would’ve traveled back to was part of the most recent Ice Age. And woolly mammoths—with their long trunks and sharp, curved tusks—were the kings. These furry, elephant-like creatures stomped through snow in some of the coldest parts of the world. 

    The last of these furry giants died out about 4,000 years ago, but traces of them can still be found. In fact, entire mammoth bodies have been discovered in Canada as well as Siberia, which is an area in Russia with very cold temperatures.

    Now scientists at a company called Colossal are trying to bring the woolly mammoth back to life. They hope to do it by 2027.

    But is bringing back extinct creatures actually a good idea?

    Bringing back extinct creatures is known as de-extinction. For a long time, the idea belonged in science fiction. But now new technology has made de-extinction possible.

    How does de-extinction work? To understand it, you have to start with genes.

    Genes are the parts of your cells that decide your traits. Traits are things like the color of your hair, the size of your feet, and how tall you are. All living things have genes. 

    Scientists at Colossal studied genes taken from those frozen mammoth bodies found in Siberia. They figured out which genes gave the mammoths their shaggy coats and thick body fat. Now they plan to put those genes into cells from elephants. 

    From those cells, they’ll create an embryo. (That’s the first stage of an animal’s development.) That embryo will then be either put into a female elephant or grown in a lab. 

    The end result would be a creature that’s part mammoth and part elephant. 

    Bringing back extinct creatures is known as de-extinction. This idea used to be only in science fiction. But now new technology has made de-extinction possible.

    How does it work? You start with genes.

    Genes are parts of your cells. Genes decide your traits. Traits are things like the color of your hair and how tall you are. All living things have genes.

    Scientists at Colossal studied genes taken from frozen mammoth bodies. They figured out which genes gave the mammoths their shaggy coats and thick body fat. They plan to put those genes into cells from elephants.

    From those cells, they’ll create an embryo. (That’s the first stage of an animal’s development.) That embryo may then be put into a female elephant. Or it may be grown in a lab.

    The creature it grows into will be part mammoth and part elephant. 

    Bringing back extinct creatures is known as de-extinction. For a long time, the idea belonged only in science fiction, but now new technology has made de-extinction possible.

    How does de-extinction work? To understand it, you have to start with genes.

    Genes are the parts of your cells that decide your traits, such as the color of your hair, the size of your feet, and how tall you are. All living things have genes.

    Scientists at Colossal studied genes taken from those frozen mammoth bodies found in Siberia. They identified which genes gave the mammoths their shaggy coats and thick body fat. Now they plan to put those genes into cells from elephants.

    From those cells, they’ll create an embryo—that’s the first stage of an animal’s development. That embryo will then be either put into a female elephant or grown in a lab.

    The end result would be a creature that’s part mammoth and part elephant. 

    Ben Lamm helped found Colossal. He thinks bringing back mammoths will get people excited to learn about them—and our world. “People have a childlike wonder to see what used to be here,” he says. 

    But de-extinction raises a lot of questions. The biggest one is: Should humans be messing with nature?

    Some scientists say no. They believe it’s dangerous to bring mammoths back without knowing what could happen. Where would these mammoths live? Could they survive in our warmer world? Would we be bringing them back just to keep them in zoos and labs? 

    Plus, there are many endangered animals already here on Earth. Shouldn’t we put our time and money into saving them? 

    It’s hard to say. But here’s another idea: Maybe scientists can focus on inventing time travel. That way, we could see any creature from any time period.

    Field trip to the Ice Age, anyone? 

    Ben Lamm helped found Colossal. He thinks bringing back mammoths will excite people. Then they’ll want to learn more about our world. “People have a childlike wonder to see what used to be here,” he says.

    But de-extinction raises questions. The biggest one is: Should humans mess with nature?

    Some scientists say no. They believe it’s dangerous. We don’t know what could happen. Where would these mammoths live? Could they survive in our warmer world? Would they end up living in just zoos and labs?

    Plus, there are many endangered animals. Shouldn’t we focus on saving them?

    Here’s another idea: Maybe scientists should try to invent time travel. That way, we could see any creature from any time period.

    Field trip to the Ice Age, anyone? 

    Ben Lamm, who helped found Colossal, believes that bringing back mammoths will get people excited to learn about them—and our world. “People have a childlike wonder to see what used to be here,” he explains.

    But de-extinction raises many questions. The biggest one is: Should humans be messing with nature?

    Some scientists say no. They believe it’s dangerous to bring mammoths back without knowing what could happen. Where would these mammoths live? Could they survive in our warmer world? Would we be bringing them back just to keep them in zoos and labs?

    Plus, there are many endangered animals already here on Earth. Shouldn’t we put our time and money into saving them?

    It’s difficult to say. But here’s another idea: Maybe scientists can focus on inventing time travel. That way, we could see any creature from any time period.

    Field trip to the Ice Age, anyone?