According to reports, British scientists are building a Noah’s Ark to store animal DNA so that they can be brought back to life if they die out,
According to experts, it could lead to a real-life Jurassic Park where extinct creatures are raised from the dead and released back into the wild.
CryoArks Biobank aims to preserve the tissues, cells and DNA of every animal from around the world at temperatures of -196C.
It will initially focus on endangered species, which are at risk from climate change and from people hunting.
Lead author of the research Professor Mike Bruford, who is leading the £1million biobank said the Biobank is like a modern-day Noah’s Ark but the animals will not be going in two-by-two and they are not expecting an imminent flood.
He added, ““Instead, we hope to store the DNA of many animals of each species. This will ensure we can maintain genetic diversity. It’s exciting to think we could one day bring extinct animals back to life.”
The CryoArks Biobank, the first of its kind in the UK, will collect samples from museums and zoos.
Frozen specimens will be made available to researchers, who can use them to investigate the genetic causes of disease, which could, in
This could lead to life-saving treatments for animals and humans.
And conservationists will be able to access the database to examine the genetic diversity of animals in captive breeding programmes.
This will indicate if they are at potential risk of excessive inbreeding.
The UK ark will be stored in Cardiff, with “backups” in other locations around the country.
