When the last Pyrenean ibex died, killed by a falling tree, the species officially became extinct.0:27
But scientists had already taken and carefully preserved DNA samples from this wild mountain goat.0:35
Using these samples and a domestic goat's ovary eggs, they were able to bring the Pyrenean ibex back to life.0:44
Even though the clone lived for only 7 minutes, some scientists claim that advanced techniques could now be used to clone dinosaurs.0:53
And unleash a real-life Jurassic Park on the world.1:02
Could a T-Rex really walk the Earth again?1:06
Well, dinosaurs were roaming the Earth over 65 million years ago, and dinosaur DNA doesn't last that long, even in teeth or bones.1:10
It is generally accepted that it can survive 100,000 years at the most.1:20
Jack Horner, a world-famous paleontologist at Montana State University, however, Jack disagrees.1:26
"Of course we can bring them back to life," he says.1:33
"The science is there."1:37
In fact, in 2003, Jack and his team made a breakthrough that amazed scientists.1:40
While excavating the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex at a remote site in Montana, its thigh bone broke in two as they were lifting it by helicopter.1:47
Back at the university, one of Jack's students was running tests on the bone when she suddenly found organic material.1:57
After it was placed under a microscope and magnified 4,000 times, she realised she was looking at dinosaur blood vessels—68 million years old.2:06
It was an astonishing finding that suggests that DNA might last a lot longer than originally believed after all.2:18
So does this mean that we will be sharing Earth with cloned T. rexes in the future?2:26
Jack believes it's possible, but a complete genetic map of a dinosaur would have to be worked out first, and that might take decades.2:32
For this reason, he is also looking at other ways to revive dinosaurs.2:41
Most scientists believe that birds are distant relatives of certain types of dinosaur., and have some dormant DNA from their ancestors.2:46
So perhaps the answer lies with birds.2:55
Jack is not the only one following this line of research.2:59
At McGill University in Canada, Hans Larsson has conducted experiments into reactivating dinosaur DNA in birds.3:04
He had been investigating the evolution of dinosaurs' long tails into birds' short tails more than 150 million years ago.3:13
Larson noticed that as an embryo, a chicken's tail has 16 small bones, but only 5 when it hatched out of the egg.3:23
It seemed that the embryo of a modern-day bird could contain the blueprint for a dinosaur.3:32
Larson found that by changing the genetic makeup of a chicken, he could enlarge its tail by 3 more bones.3:39
This may not seem so impressive, but a series of alterations could result in a completely new kind of dinosaur.3:47
Larson is convinced that this reverse evolution means that we could see a type of dinosaur within the next 100 years.3:56
That seems a long time to wait, but some Japanese scientists are more ambitious.4:05
The Tokyo researchers believe that they can bring the woolly mammoth back from the dead very soon.4:11
This distant ancestor of an elephant died out 8,000 years ago, so the chances of finding usable DNA are much higher.4:18
They intend to go on an expedition to frozen Siberia, where they are optimistic that they will find the necessary organic material.4:28
Scientists like Jack Horner are fascinated by the idea of unlocking the mysteries of a lost prehistoric world.4:37
He imagines himself teaching students on stage, accompanied by what he calls a 'dino chicken on a lead'. He thinks that would be the most satisfying lecture he could ever give.4:45
Jack says, 'There is now nothing to stop us bringing back dinosaurs but ourselves.'4:58
He continues, though, whether it is a good idea or not is another question.5:05
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