OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma City is using science and technology to sustain the DNA and spirit of a tree symbolizing hope 24 years after the deadliest act of domestic terrorism on U.S. soil.
As part of an annual remembrance of the April 19, 1995, Oklahoma City bombing, civic leaders on Friday plan to transplant a tree that was cloned from a scarred American elm that lived through the blast. They hope the younger elm will replace the nearly 100-year-old “Survivor Tree” once it dies.
The parent tree lives on at the memorial to the 168 people killed.
Oklahoma forester Mark Bays says the genetically identical clone will grow taller and spread roots. Machinery that can move a mass of roots 25 feet (7.6 meters) across can haul it to the memorial when needed.
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