We’re getting closer … it’s just a matter of time.  It appears that European researchers have now gotten closer to reconstructing a complete genome of ancient Neanderthals.  So if we follow the story line of Jurassic Park, we’ll be able to recreate some actual Neanderthals, and maybe create a park for them to live someplace.

This might sound far fetched, however I could see some company – or country – seeing the lucrative market for this and actually begin to exploit this genetic research to do exactly that.  As we continue to make these breakthroughs in genetics, it’s only a matter of time before we start to see some pretty wild uses of the research for commercial reasons.  I’m afraid that besides the medical and knowledge purposes, there are going to be some massive commercial business models that emerge.

From the article:

Researchers studying Neanderthal DNA say it should be possible to construct a complete genome of the ancient hominid despite the degradation of the DNA over time.

There is also hope for reconstructing the genome of the mammoth and cave bear, according to a research team led by Svante Paabo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.

So also expect the sale of recreated mammoths to zoos world wide … imagine what zoo would not want to be able to show off a “real” mammoth to attract attention.  We are entering interesting times!

Source: Researchers: Neanderthal DNA Sequence Can Be Rebuilt
FOXNews.com Jun 27 2007 10:56AM GMT