I recently read an article that Harvard scientists believe that they will be able to bring back the wooly mammoth within the next decade or so.
At least, they believe they will be able to bring back some version of the mammoth.
According to the article on the Digital Trends website, Harvard geneticist and molecular engineer Professor George Church said he hopes to develop an “elephant-mammoth embryo.”
Now, if any of you are having weird flashbacks to any of the Jurassic Park movies where the creatures come after the humans, wait just a second.
Mammoths were considered herbivores, meaning they ate a lot of grass, and actually co-existed with humans pretty easily, from what my research on the subject tells me. So, unless the “mammophant,” as Church is calling it, somehow developed aggressive tendencies, I don’t think we would need to worry.
Church said he had high hopes for the “mammophant.” He would use the genes of the Asian elephant and a wooly mammoth to develop the creature which could do two good things: save the Asian elephant, which is considered endangered by the World Wildlife Fund, and possibly help combat the effects of climate change.
Church said the mammoth would prevent “tundra permafrost from melting and releasing greenhouses gas into the atmosphere.”
The article quoted his statement in The Guardian.
“They keep the tundra from thawing by punching through snow and allowing cold air to come in,” Church said, as reported by The Guardian. “In the summer, they knock down trees and help the grass grow.”
Now, here’s what I want you to take from this version of a possible comeback story. It wasn’t just to inspire dreams of one day having a pet wooly mammoth and being the coolest kid on the block.
While we may or may not see a wooly mammoth come back to life, the idea of a creature that endured the Ice Age and existed up to only a few thousand years ago is inspiring. I think we could learn something from that.
How many of you have already failed at keeping a New Year’s resolution? How many of you have dropped a hobby because you didn’t have time? How many of you have become so worn down with life and work that you can’t find joy in the same things you used to anymore?
Well, this could be the time to make a comeback.
Take time to reflect on what you love about life and what you love to do. If you don’t know what that is, take this time to try to find out.
Make a comeback.
If you didn’t already have a hobby or a passion, try a few new things out. If you find something you enjoy, it could bring a new light to your life.
Make a comeback.
There are so many things we can do to re-invent ourselves and our lives, and it doesn’t have to take very much. Just some work and patience.
Look at the mammoth; it’s waited around 5,000 years.
And like the wooly mammoth, or the possible “mammophant,” it’s never too late to try to make that comeback.
Cassie Gibbs is a staff writer for The Southeast Sun and Daleville Sun-Courier. The opinions of this writer are her own and not the opinion of the paper. She can be reached at (334) 393-2969 or by email at email@example.com.