RHINOS TO BE HORN AGAIN?

THE near-extinct northern white rhino could be revived following a "crucial" genome breakthrough.

- BY STEPHEN BEECH

It is one of the rarest animals on Earth, with just two females left.

There is no natural way for the species to reproduce after poaching decimated numbers.

Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhino, died at a conservation centre in Kenya, aged 45, in 2018.

Now, an international team of scientists have mapped the entire genome of a northern white rhino.

They say it represents a “crucial step toward” - bringing the critically endangered species back from the edge using advanced reproductive technologies.

The researchers explained the complete genome can be used as a “reference” to analyse the health of previously developed northern white rhinoceros stem cells.