Bringing Back the Woolly Mammoth?! 🐘
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Season 2: Episode 11 Description
Ten News Gets Extra: 🧬 Discover why a company, called Colossal, is trying to bring back the woolly mammoth. 🐘 Do animals have accents when they speak? Nature Nerds' Laine Farber shares some interesting mole-rat research. 🧪 And test your animal research knowledge in today's Trivia on the Ten. ✅
Sources for the episode:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/13/science/colossal-woolly-mammoth-DNA.html
https://www.improbable.com/2021-ceremony/winners/
https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/naked-mole-rat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eusociality
Links
🦏 See how a rhinoceros is transported and read why it is important to conserve the species. https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/17/world/rhino-airlift-upside-down-hnk-spc-intl/index.html
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TRANSCRIPT:
Bethany Van Delft 0:02
What if it were possible to bring back an enormous prehistoric mammal? And how do naked mole rats say hello? Today we're talking creatures great and small. I'm Bethany Van Delft. It's Saturday, September 25th. And this is The Ten News gets extra
Various Voices 0:23
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Bethany Van Delft 0:31
If you are a big fan of the Ice Age movies, many have wondered what it might be like to hang with a real live woolly mammoth. These cousins of the modern elephant, you know the ones with huge tusks and thick fur haven't been gone that long. They lived as recently as 4,000 years ago. And now a new bio science company has said they're trying to bring them back using genetic engineering. What? You heard me right, a company called Colossal, which means huge, has given themselves the really huge task of bringing back the mammoth by 2027. How will they do it? With genetics. The idea for Colossal started in the laboratory of George Church, a biologist at Harvard. He along with researcher Dr. Eriona Hysolli used genetic tools they invented to pinpoint the differences between a mammoth and their closest living relatives, the Asian elephant. What they found were 60 genes that controlled everything from having more fat so mammals can survive in the Arctic, to the mammoths, distinctive fur and domed head. So to bring back a mammoth, all they need to do is start with a not yet born elephant, remove the genes that make it an elephant and replace them with those mammoth genes. Sounds easy, right? Ah, help. Not really. Their big idea also comes with huge problems to overcome. Mammoths are hard to work with because they're so big. To grow a baby mammoth and a test tube would take two years, and it could weigh more than 200 pounds. Whoa. No one has ever done this with an elephant. Never mind the mammoth. Most other scientists don't believe they can pull this off. But regardless of whether they can create a mammoth or not, the founders argue that the process is worth learning about researching how to bring back mammoths might help develop new techniques for species that are endangered, giving them a genetic boost to adapt to climate change or fight disease. That's great. This is cool research, and I sure hope they can help endangered animals. This definitely sounds a little too close to Jurassic Park for my taste. Across the United States, people speak with so many different accents and dialects. But have you ever thought about whether animals have different dialects? Friend of The Ten, Laine Farber from the Nature Nerds Podcast is here to share some new research on the subject.
Laine Farber 3:21
Howdy. Hi, y'all. wazzzuuuppp? These are just a few of our favorite ways to say hello in the United States. These greetings, not your style? Well, maybe you're more of a purist, how about "Hi there," or "good morning," or even the fancy-schmancy "pleasure to make your acquaintance?" Whatever your preferred method might be, there are lots of ways to greet friends, and where you live might play a key factor in what you choose. The US is a big country filled with lots of different cultures. And these different cultures have different foods, customs, and ways of talking. A difference in language particular to a specific region or social group is called a dialect. It's well known that countries all around the world have different dialects within their borders. But did you know that certain animals have dialects? No way? That's right. Over the last few decades, scientists have discovered that species of whales, bats, and birds have regional dialects and a brand new study just added one more strange critter to this list of unique creatures. Everyone's favorite, buck-tooth, wrinkly little jelly bean, the naked mole-rat. Using a computer algorithm, scientists were able to map out the squeak, squeals, grunts, and chirps of different mole-rat colonies. And guess what? The computers detected that each colony had a distinct chirp with a different pattern and pitch. Some colonies said "Howdy" while others squeaked out "Pleased to meet you." Now the sound is an important cue for mole rats. These little sand puppies live underground and have teeny tiny eyes, which are basically useless. They rely on their sense of smell, and ability to feel sound waves. Yep, you heard that correctly. These strange little creatures lack external ears, so they have to feel sound vibrations, but don't worry, they're really good at it. This is important because scientists believe that this skill helps them determine friend from foe. naked mole rats are some of the most socially developed mammals in the animal kingdom. They live in tight-knit colonies with members of their extended family. But be careful. If you're not part of their colony. You are not welcome. Naked mole rats are incredibly territorial. They're even known to invade and go to war with neighboring colonies. Pretty intense for an animal that looks like an uncooked sausage. Well, luckily for you and me, humans tend to be a little more friendly than naked mole rats. Even if some of us say "Bye ya'll, and some of us say, "see you later."
Bethany Van Delft 6:14
Thanks, Leanne. Who knew?
Various Voices 6:22
Hey, Ten'ers. Did you know that October 5th is World Teacher Day? That's right, an entire day dedicated to our tireless educators. Okay, class, ready to party. Teachers have done so much for us over the past year. And we want to make the most of this special day by sharing your stories, thank you's, and shoutouts for a special teacher in your life. Send us a note or submit a voice message to our website at www.thetennews.com or leave us a voicemail on our phone line at 877-10-News. That's 877 t e n, n e w s. We cannot wait to hear your messages. And if you send them in by September 30th, we might include them in our world teachers’ day episode.
Bethany Van Delft 7:24
And now, it's time for.
Various Voices 7:25
What, what, what's the big idea?
Bethany Van Delft 7:29
Trivia on The Ten. In other animal news, can you guess which one of these topics was the subject of a real research paper that recently won an award? Was it a) if people can tell the difference between cat sounds at home or at the vet? b) if hanging a rhinoceros upside-down affects its breathing? Or, c) how to better control cockroaches on submarines?
Bethany Van Delft 8:02
Did you guess it? The answer is A, B, and C. That's right. Each of these papers recently won an award. No way.
Bethany Van Delft 8:16
It wasn't exactly a Nobel Prize, considered the highest honor in many fields. But instead, a prize is awarded each year for real research that makes people laugh, and then think whatever. And why were they hanging rhinoceroses upside down? Unfortunately, due to the loss of habitats for our Rhino friends, they need to be transported to new homes. Believe it or not, they traveled by helicopter and due to their size, these weights transport them is to hang them by their feet. Are you kidding me? Scientists wanted to make sure that this is safe and good news. The study showed that this method is actually safer than using a sling under their bellies. Yes. So keep an eye out for upside-down rhinos in the sky. And yes, we have put a link to a photo in the show notes. We wouldn't leave you hanging. Get it? Time's up. But before we go, here's a quick note for the grownups. Thanks for listening to The Ten News. Look out for new episodes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and extras on Saturdays. The Ten News is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts and is distributed by iHeart Radio. The Ten News creative team is listening to mole rats and includes Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto, Andrew Hall, and Nathalie Alonso. Laine Farber contributed to this episode. Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle. And our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. I'm Bethany Van Delft, and thanks for listening to The Ten News. Hey, Colossal scientists. Why don't we watch Jurassic Park real quick cause, you know? Reasons.
