Could extinct species, like mammoths and passenger pigeons, be brought back to life? National Geographic Emerging Explorer Beth Shapiro is one of the scientists investigating this intriguing possibility.

An evolutionary biologist and pioneer in ancient DNA research, Shapiro travels extensively through the Arctic regions of Siberia and North America to collect bones, teeth, and other remains of Ice Age giants like mammoths, saber-toothed cats, and giant camels. She extracts DNA from these remains and uses this information to understand how changing climates and increasing human activity have shaped the present-day distribution of species. Her goal is to use this information from the past and, increasingly, genomic tools developed in the present, to save living species from the same fate as so many ancient animals.