Scientists grow mammoth flesh in a lab to make a prehistoric meatball – but are too afraid to eat it

As the expiration date expires, this meatball is only a few thousand years past its prime. That’s because it contains the resurrected flesh of a woolly mammoth – a beast that went extinct some 10,000 years ago.

The prehistoric meatball was created by an Australian cultured meat company that ultimately wants to mix and match cells from unconventional species to create new meats.

Scientists took the DNA sequence of a mammoth muscle protein and filled in the gaps with code from an elephant, the species’ closest relative.

This sequence was then placed into a sheep’s myoblastic stem cells, which replicated to grow 20 billion cells that were in turn used to grow the mammoth meat.

Despite creating what they hope will be “really tasty” meat, the experts are too scared to eat it in case the ancient protein proves deadly.

How it works: Scientists took the DNA sequence of a mammoth muscle protein and filled in the gaps with code from an elephant, the species’ closest living relative

‘We haven’t seen this protein for thousands of years,’ says Professor Ernst Wolvetang, who made the meatball with Vow.

“So we have no idea how our immune system would react if we eat it.

“But if we were to do it again, we could certainly do it in a way that would make it more palatable to regulators.”

Professor Wolvetang, from the Australian Institute for Bioengineering at the University of Queensland, told the Guardian the process was “ridiculously simple and quick” and was completed in “a few weeks.”

He added that the original purpose was to make dodo meat. However, because the DNA sequences required for this do not currently exist, this was not possible.

Vow said it ultimately chose the mammoth “because it is a symbol of diversity loss and a symbol of climate change.”

It is believed that the animal was driven to extinction by human hunting and a warming world after the last Ice Age.

The company’s overarching goal is to demonstrate the potential of cell-grown meat as an alternative to animal slaughter and the associated global warming associated with large-scale livestock farming.

Cultured meat uses much less land and water than cattle, while there are no methane emissions.

Scientists say the overall environmental impact of cultured meat production is likely to be significantly lower than that of conventionally produced meat, despite no direct comparison being possible because cultured products are not yet being produced on an industrial scale.

Gaps in the DNA are filled with the code of the mammoth’s closest relative, the African elephant

The resulting DNA sequence is placed into a sheep’s stem cells, which replicate to produce 20 billion copies that can then be used to make mammoth meat and produce a meatball

Lab tests: The DNA sequence was placed in a sheep’s myoblastic stem cells which replicated to grow 20 billion cells which in turn were used to grow the mammoth meat

One study claimed that cultured meat entails about seven to 45 percent less energy consumption than conventionally produced European meat.

Greenhouse gas emissions were also found to be 78-96 percent lower, while land use was reduced by 99 percent and water use was reduced by 82-96 percent.

Plant-based alternatives to meat are often seen on supermarket shelves worldwide, but cultured meat is still a growing field.

Good Meat’s cultured chicken, which mimics the taste of the real meat, does currently only sold to consumers in Singapore.

Woodcutting beast: Vow said it ultimately chose the mammoth “because it is a symbol of diversity loss and a symbol of climate change”

Off the menu: Despite creating what they hope will be ‘really tasty’ meat, the experts are too scared to eat it in case the ancient protein proves deadly

However, two companies – Good Meat and California-based Upside Foods – have now passed a US approval process.

Vow CEO George Peppou told the Guardian: ‘The aim is to get a few billion carnivores to stop eating [conventional] animal proteins to eating things that can be produced in electrified systems.

And we believe the best way to do that is to invent meat. We look for cells that are easy to grow, very tasty and nutritious, and mix and match those cells into really tasty meat.’

The mammoth meatball will be unveiled tonight (Thursday) at Nemo, a science museum in the Netherlands.

WOOL MAMMOTHS EXPLAINED: THESE GIANT MAMMALS SROWED THE EARTH 10,000 YEARS AGO DURING THE PLEISTOCENE

The woolly mammoth roamed the icy tundra of Europe and North America for 140,000 years, disappearing at the end of the Pleistocene epoch, 10,000 years ago.

They are one of the best understood prehistoric animals known to science, as their remains are often not fossilized, but frozen and preserved.

Males were about 3.5 meters long, while females were slightly smaller.

Curved tusks were up to 5 meters long and their underbellies had a coat of shaggy hair up to 1 meter long.

Small ears and short tails ensured that vital body heat was not lost.

Their trunks had “two fingers” on the end with which to pluck grass, twigs, and other vegetation.

The woolly mammoth is one of the best understood prehistoric animals known to science, as their remains are often not fossilized, but frozen and preserved (artist’s impression)

They take their name from the Russian ‘mammut’, or earth mole, as the animals were believed to live underground and die on contact with light – which explains why they were always found dead and half-buried.

Their bones were once believed to belong to extinct giant races.

Woolly mammoths and modern-day elephants are closely related, sharing 99.4 percent of their genes.

The two species followed different evolutionary paths six million years ago, about the same time that humans and chimpanzees went their separate ways.

Woolly mammoths coexisted with early humans, who hunted them for food and used their bones and tusks for making weapons and art.