Just imagine! Dentist plans to clone former Beatle John Lennon using DNA extracted from rotten tooth

Dr Michael Zuk hopes to team up with scientists who could work out the late singer’s DNA code

A dentist who owns one of John Lennon’s teeth says he plans to extract DNA from the rotten molar in an attempt to clone the former Beatle.

Dr Michael Zuk, who bought the tooth for almost £20,000 in 2011, hopes to team up with scientists who could work out the late singer’s DNA code and help create a full-blown Lennon clone sometime in the future.

Speaking to US website The Examiner, Dr Zuk said: “If scientists think they can clone mammoths, then John Lennon could be next… To potentially say I had a small part in bringing back one of rock's greatest stars would be mind-blowing”.

He added: “I am nervous and excited at the possibility that we will be able to fully sequence John Lennon's DNA, very soon I hope.

Dr Zuk went on to say: “With researchers working on ways to clone mammoths, the same technology certainly could make human cloning a reality”.

Lennon, who was shot dead by New Yorker Mark Chapman in 1980, had originally given the rotten tooth to his housekeeper Dot Jarlett in the 1960s.

Over the following decades, the tooth has been sold numerous times, often being donated to charities and then resold once again into private hands.

Although Dr Zuk has big plans for the tooth’s future, he is currently using it as a prop to promote cancer awareness.