A dentist has handed one of John Lennon's teeth over to scientists to have the Beatles legend's Dna extracted.

Michael Zuk purchased the slain rocker's rotten molar for $30,000 (£20,000) two years ago (11), and has now sent it to a U.S. laboratory for researchers to sequence the star's genetic code.

According to Britain's The Sun, the Canadian dentist is hoping experts will one day be able to clone the Imagine singer using Dna from the tooth.

He says, "If scientists think they can clone mammoths, then John Lennon could be next. To say I had a small part in bringing back one of rock's greatest stars would be mind-blowing. I'm nervous and excited at the possibility we will be able to fully sequence John Lennon's Dna very soon, I hope."