4 Nov 2008

Scientists create new life from a mouse that has been frozen for 16 YEARS

Scientists have created clones of a mouse that had been dead and frozen for 16 years. It is the first time they have been able to clone a frozen animal.

The Japanese researchers say their work will benefit mankind - and could be used to bring back extinct animals such as the woolly mammoth or sabre tooth tiger.

But ethical watchdogs branded the experiment disturbing. Critics say it brings the world closer to the day when people try to clone long- dead relatives stored in cryopreservation clinics.

It could even lead to a macabre new industry - in which people leave behind 'relics' of their bodies in freezers in the hope that they could one day be cloned.   Mail Online