Mr Church selected genes associated with the mammoth’s ability to resist the cold

A scientist has inserted DNA from the frozen remains of a woolly mammoth into cells taken from a live elephant.

George Church, professor of genetics at Harvard University, played down claims that his research was a step towards recreating creatures that died out more than 3,000 years ago.

He used a new technique known as Crispr, which allows scientists to edit DNA, to alter the elephant genome by adding mammoth genes from a carcass preserved in the Arctic permafrost.

Mr Church selected genes associated with the mammoth’s ability to resist the cold, including hairiness, subcutaneous fat and haemoglobin. He said: “We made 14 edits in the elephant genome, not changing every bit of each gene. We are testing ideas about cold-resistance genes in cells, not