We’ve all seen the Jurassic Park movies, and if they have taught us one thing it’s that trying to bring back ancient beasts from the dead usually ends in someone getting eaten whilst on the toilet.

That’s not putting off a team of Russian and South Korean scientists, however, who are set to use revolutionary new DNA techniques to bring an extinct species of cave lion back to life.

Back in August of last year two cubs were found frozen in remote northern Russia, their bodies so intact that the team believe they can use the DNA to recreate the Ice Age predators. IBT reports:

They will use one of the cubs for the cloning process whilst the other will be kept in a museum…

Dr Albert Protopopov, head of the mammoth fauna studies department of the Yakutian Academy of Sciences, said…”This find, beyond any doubt, is sensational. The cubs are complete with all their body parts: fur, ears, soft tissue and even whiskers. Together with the Mammoth Museum, we took samples for cell research…

South Korean cloning expert Hwang Woo-suk, who is already conducting pioneering research work to bring the extinct woolly mammoth back to life, took samples of one of the cave lion cubs in a recent visit to the university.

That’s all well and good, but if they start enlisting the financing of eccentric billionaires and buying up remote islands we should give this one a wide berth.

[source:ibt]