Will a woman be able to bear and give birth to a Neanderthal
Neanderthals who disappeared from the face of the Earth about 30 thousand. years ago, they are considered the closest relatives of modern man. In recent years, scientific circles have been actively discussing the mystery of the disappearance of Homo neanderthalensis and whether it is possible to restore this species. It turns out that thanks to modern genetics, the birth of ancient people is quite feasible. But this is definitely not going to happen in the near future. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the problem is not always only in high technology.
It is still unknown for sure whether Neanderthals became extinct as a result of assimilation with modern humans, or disappeared for some other reason. Geneticists have established that we are all a little Neanderthal. The genome of Europeans and Asians contains at least 4 percent of the DNA of paleoanthropes.
In 2018, scientists seriously took up the study of the issue. They managed to achieve some success. In particular, Neanderthal brain organoids were grown using DNA in the laboratory. This success inspired some geneticists so much that they began to consider cloning ancient people.
In fact, why grow some parts of organs and make assumptions if you can get a real representative of the species and study it calmly. The first such bold proposal was made by geneticist George Church (George Church) from Harvard University. This happened in 2013, that is, 5 years before the first successes in organ reproduction.
The scientist argued that the birth of a Neanderthal is a relatively simple task, given the level of modern science. Church suggested taking DNA obtained from the fossil remains of Homo neanderthalensis and embedding it in a female egg. After that, it remains to place the resulting embryo in the uterus of a surrogate mother and wait for the birth of a miracle.
George Church was so excited about this idea that he suggested starting the search for a surrogate mother immediately. The results of work with organoids in 2018 even more provoked the Harvard genius. The scientist began to actively promote his ideas to the masses. He lectured all over the world and published articles in the press with headlines like: "It takes a brave woman who can bear and give birth to a Neanderthal."
The topic raised by Church caused a violent and ambiguous reaction in the world community. There were those who called for an immediate start of a bold experiment. But the majority were against it. Religious and public organizations have raised many spiritual and ethical issues. Church and his supporters have not yet had answers to them.
The geneticist had to calm his ardor and even justify himself. In an interview with The Boston Herald, George Church said that journalists took his words out of context, and detractors distorted them:
Church is in no hurry now. He talks about "technical and ethical hurdles" that need to be overcome. His colleagues from other countries are also cautiously optimistic about such cloning. They believe that recreating a species from DNA obtained from a fossil is not so easy.
Even cloning modern species, science faces numerous setbacks. It is worth remembering at least Dolly the sheep, which was born in 1996. Then only one of the 29 embryos survived. There are other serious obstacles related to the physiology of Neanderthals. The growth and development of the fetus in paleanthropes did not take place at all in the same way as in modern people.
Even to give birth to a Neanderthal, you will have to do a caesarean section. This is due to the structural features of the skeleton of this species and especially the shape of the skull. It is difficult to list all the problems that a surrogate mother of such a child may face. It can be anything from rejection of the fetus to the death of the baby in the first hours after birth.
But that's not all. We do not know what conditions are necessary for the growth and normal development of a Neanderthal. Do not forget that this is only a "cousin" of Homo sapiens and many aspects of his life are still covered with darkness for us. There is no doubt that sooner or later Neanderthals will be cloned. But perhaps the result of the experiment will be as unexpected for us as the experience of the literary heroes Victor Frankenstein and Professor Preobrazhensky?