A Mammoth Project

A US company called Colossal has raised 11 million dollars to bring mammoths (猛犸象) back from extinction. Mammoths died out about 3,700 years ago but their bodies are sometimes     1     in ice. This allows scientists to     2     their DNA, which could hold the key to bringing mammoths back to life.

A team of scientists at Colossal plan to use information from mammoth     3     to edit the DNA of Asian elephants — their closest living relatives. The team will focus on DNA that is linked to bushy hair and other     4     for cold weather. These were what helped mammoths survive on the Arctic steppe — ancient chilly grasslands. By adding this DNA to egg cells from Asian elephants, they hope to create an elephant-mammoth mix, which could develop into a baby either inside a living Indian elephant or in a(n)     5     organ.

Colossal hopes that the first set of calves could be born this way in six years. “We want something that is     6     equivalent to the mammoth, that will enjoy its time at - 40°C and do all the things that elephants and mammoths do, in particular knocking down trees,” said Church, the founder of Colossal. It’s hoped that the destructive habits of the hybrids (杂交种) could help restore areas of Arctic steppe that have been     7     by trees since mammoths became extinct. That can help keep the world cooler.

Arctic grasslands     8     more heat from the Sun than forests and can absorb more of the gases released by human activity. However, not everyone agrees with the     9    . Professor Adrian says the extinction of mammoths had little to do with the     10     of steppe grasslands. He points out that it would take thousands of mammoths to have an effect on the environment.

Fifteen wild Asian elephants that left their     1     in Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve(保护区)in Yunnan province have so far not caused any trouble in the provincial capital(省会), Kunming, thanks to local authorities’ effective measures. By Thursday afternoon, the herd(兽群)had moved to Shuanghe county, Jinning district in Kunming’s outskirts, according to the Yunnan Forestry and Grassland Administration, which has     2     a special work team under the guidance of the provincial government.

Provincial forestry police have followed the elephants’ movements round the clock, using drones(无人机)and cameras. Experts from both the national and provincial forestry departments are advising on     3     to control the elephants. Police and firefighters in Kunming are working to prevent the elephants from coming into     4     with residents. Trucks(卡车)and digging equipment have been put in place at the     5     of villages to try to stop the pachyderms’(厚皮动物)entry.

A woman from Ganhe village, where the elephants     6     around for several hours on Thursday, told local media that they had received     7     from the village committee. “All my family members moved to the second floor of our house on Wednesday. We were very nervous last night, but     8     no one was hurt,” she said.

Although it’s not known when the elephants left the Xishuangbanna reserve, experts believe they may have started roaming(徜徉)last year and are now about 500 kilometers away from the reserve.

The Asian elephants, which are listed as endangered(濒危的)on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species,     9     Class-A protection status in China, the same level afforded(给予)the giant panda. Yunnan is the only home to wild Asian elephants in China and has 300 of the animals. However, more than two-thirds of the population live outside nature reserves, said Chen Mingyong, a life sciences professor at Yunnan University who has been     10     wild elephants for decades.

Lonesome George

Lonesome George was the last Pinta Island tortoise. He died in 2012. After George’s death, the Pinta Island tortoise was declared extinct.

The extinction of the Pinta Island tortoise is blamed on humans. Before humans     1     on the island, the species     2     in isolation and     3     the plants that naturally grew there. George was discovered many years after their arrival, and by then humans     4     new species that     5     for the food the tortoises ate. After goats in particular had been brought to the island, the Pinta Island tortoise population     6    . Eventually, only George remained.

Here’s to guilt-free flying

Maj a Rosen gave up flying a decade ago out of concern for its environmental impact. But when she became a mother and started hanging out with other parents, she didn’t bring it up, even when the conversation turned to flying. It would have     1     the mood.

Then in April 2018, her home country of Sweden     2     a tax on aviation (飞行).The climate impacts of flying were on the evening news and the mood changed. Rosen    3     the moment. With her neighbor Lotta Hammar, she launched a campaign called “We stay on the ground”, which has    4    10,000 people to commit to avoid flights in 2019.

Kudos. But here’s the     5     truth: in the grand scheme of things, barely anyone will follow suit. The     6     classes tend to have a lot to say about the eco benefits of avoiding meat, cycling and eating locally sourced food. But that     7     generally disappears when it comes to flying.

We can’t rely on international     8     to stop aviation emission either. Yes, the UN has fixed up a deal to cap aviation emissions beyond 2020. But it lacks real bite, allowing airlines to continue emitting carbon provided they offset (抵消)it.

All this means we could really do with green tech riding to the rescue. Here, at least, there is a little good news. Even rather simple measures like freeing planes to fly in straighter lines could     9     cut carbon emissions. Hybrid (混合动力的)electric aircraft are also the pipeline. And we already know that planes can mix up to 50 per cent biofuels into their tanks and fly safely.

It’s time to redouble our    10     to make planes green. In the meantime, if you are still looking for a New Year’s resolution, you might want to think about joining those 105000 Swedes.