Washington: Cloning a Beatle! Scientists are trying to extract DNA of John Lennon from his tooth in an attempt to clone one of the rock music`s greatest stars.
Canadian dentist Michael Zuk attracted world-wide attention in 2011 for purchasing Lennon`s tooth for over USD 30,000 at a UK auction.
Lennon had given the freshly extracted rotten tooth to his housekeeper Dot Jarlett in 1960s, `The Examiner` reported.
Zuk is now working with American scientists in a US lab where Lennon`s tooth will go under the microscope, with researchers considering ways to extract the genetic code from the tooth.
Zuk hopes that the fragile specimen will provide insight into Lennon`s genes.
"Many Beatles fans remember where they were when they heard John Lennon was shot. I hope they also live to hear the day he was given another chance," Zuk said on his website.
The dentist stands firm with his conviction that the investment could be one of the best decisions of his life.
"To potentially say I had a small part in bringing back one of Rock`s greatest stars would be mind-blowing," Zuk said.
"I am nervous and excited at the possibility that we will be able to fully sequence John Lennon`s DNA, very soon I hope. With researchers working on ways to clone mammoths, the same technology certainly could make human cloning a reality," said Zuk.
This testing on Lennon`s DNA may give rise to a heated debate as the subject of cloning often raises moral and ethical questions, the report said.
Lennon, who died at the age of forty, rose to worldwide fame as a founder member of the Beatles, the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed band in the history of popular music.
On December 8, 1980, as Lennon was returning to his New York apartment, he was shot dead.
PTI
