The Frozen Ark Project

There is a project that is currently underway, that sounds like something from a science fiction movie. Using the most advanced technology in the field of cryogenics, and combining this with the most advanced animal and genetic research available, a lab in the Unite Kingdom is currently collecting DNA and other valuable cellular samples of all the existing animal species in the world.

These samples are then frozen, and will be kept intact for the next 100 years. If effect, they have created the New Noah's Ark.

Frozen For The Future

The samples that the Frozen Ark Project (www.frozenarkproject.org) are gathering are cryogenically frozen at -196° C. Kept frozen with the use of liquid nitrogen, these samples will be safe for approximately the next 100 years, allowing future researchers access to actual DNA and cellular samples of animals that may well be extinct by then.

These samples will assist scientists in the future in the study of extinct or endangered species. These DNA and Cell samples provide great amounts of information of the species, including its development, behaviour and evolution.

And for animals that are not yet extinct, these samples can provide a valuable resource for revitalizing any captive breeding populations in the future.

A New Jurassic Park?

When you talk of frozen DNA and extinct animal species, the topic of regenerating extinct species will arise.

Like the movie Jurassic Park, these DNA and cell samples could, one day, be used to possibly recreate a extinct animal. As the science of genetics advances, it may become possible and feasible to actually recreate extinct animals from these sample cells and DNA.

This frozen information could be the key to unlocking such recreation mysteries.

The Library Of DNA

As the Frozen Ark Project moves along, they intend to attempt to collect DNA and Cellular material samples from as many as 16,000 species worldwide.

Many places currently collect animal DNA, but there is currently no long term facility to house this information. The Frozen Ark Project, with it's advanced Cryogenics facility, can house these samples safely for as long as 100 years, making it a significantly important genetics facility.

Funding is made by donation, and the entire project is run by the Frozen Ark Consortium, currently headquartered in Nottingham, England.

Material for this article is from www.frozenarkproject.org and The Frozen Ark Comsortium.