It might soon be possible to clone Neanderthals, our closest extinct relatives.

Geneticist George Church says it is more than theoretically possible to make a clone from extracted old DNA.

He theorizes that studying cloned Neanderthals can help scientists better understand the human mind, but he does not intend to try.

Scientists have already extracted DNA from Neanderthal bones, but ethical issues will be the biggest obstacle.

Dr. Rob Desalle, of the American Museum of Natural History said:

"I think the likelihood of seeing a Neanderthal clone is the same as seeing a Tyrannosaurus Rex in Central Park actually. And that's because there are so many ethical issues involved ."

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