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Last year, an extremely
well-preserved carcass of a dog from the Pleistocene era (12,400 years ago) was
unearthed from its icy grave in Tumat, Russia.
Among many present for its recent autopsy, was Hwang Woo-Suk, a South
Korean professor who hopes to use some of samples he collected to bring the
extinct animal and others such as the woolly mammoth back to life through
de-extinction.
De-extinction
can be defined either as the rebirth of an animal that was extinct or the creation
of an animal that greatly resembles an extinct species. Several possible techniques exist for “resurrecting”
these one thought lost animals. One of
the most promising methods is use of CRISPR/Cas9 to “cut and paste” genes from
an extinct animal into those of a living common ancestor. This method is being used by George Church’s
lab at Harvard University to replace 14 loci of an elephant genome with a
mammoth version of those sequences. Currently, they are only working on
transforming these cells into tissues and stem cells but it is estimated that
within a decade, it could be possible to meet a breathing woolly mammoth. Another possible method for de-extinction is cloning,
where DNA from a recently extinct animal is inserted into the egg another
animal, then implanted into a surrogate mother.
This method was used in 2009 to resurrect the bucardo, an ibex species
that went extinct in 2000. The clone, however, died just minutes after its
birth from deformities. Due to the severity of clone deformities and
shortened lifespans due to telomere shortening, it is likely to be a while
before cloning can be used in this method with success.
With
scientists closing in on reversing extinction, it is easy to imagine a
real-world Jurassic Park filled with extinct animals like the Woolly Mammoth,
Passenger Pigeon, Dodo, and Tasmanian Tiger.
However, also like in Jurassic Park, grave endings may result from “playing
God”. When re-introduced into the wild,
the revived creatures may turn out to be invasive species in an ecosystem that,
after thousands of years, has moved along without them and assumedly achieved
equilibrium in their absence. Another worry is that if extinction is no longer
a finality, conservation efforts may cease.
This leaves many wondering if it is better to spend money on the revival
of a species no longer suited to survive or on endangered species.
Boyle, Jamie. "Science Explainer: We May Not Resurrect Dinosaurs but Other Extinct Animals Likely to Be Revived | Genetic Literacy Project." Genetic Literacy Project. The Genetic Literacy Project, 16 July 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
Choi, Charles. "First Extinct-Animal Clone Created." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 10 Feb. 2009. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
Liesowska, Anna. "Ancient Puppy's Brain Is 'well Preserved'... as Dog Bares Its Teeth after 12,400 Years." RSS. Siberian Times, 16 Mar. 2016. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
Your post is very interesting. I'm pretty sure that I have heard about scientists attempting to revive extinct animals. It's a good idea to de-extinct animals that became extinct due to human interference. However, I agree that, even though it would be very cool to see Woolly Mammoths and Dodos in a zoo, there are bound to be ecological barriers for their growth in habitats today. Furthermore, it would probably be a better idea to help endangered species than species no longer suited for survival for the reasons stated in your post. Why de-extinct species that would end up becoming extinct again due to environmental changes? I like that you pointed out that this may cause conservation efforts to stop since there, essentially, would be no fear of endangered species.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Mehak. I believe it would be more beneficial for the environment to help endangered species rather than bring back extinct species just for entertainment purposes. I feel there are better uses for this study than just to put mammoths in the zoo.
DeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. For some reason this reminded me of Jurassic Park. What if the Woolly Mammoth is just the tip of the iceberg and pretty soon saber tooth tigers are next. Could the technology for this be put in the wrong hands and end up creating an army of dangerous or mutated animals? I agree that seeing extinct animals would be very cool and that this could mean that the attempts to prevent animals from going to could be stopped and those extinct animals could be recreated, but how accurate is the technology and can it be proven that nothing detrimental to society or the ecosystem will happen. Sorry to be morbid but that's all I could think about when reading this. I enjoyed your article though it made me think a lot.
ReplyDeleteWow, this is such an interesting post! Thinking about bringing back a species that is extinct is incredible! Just think of all the other species this could be possible with. However, I also agree with your comment about the bad possible endings from "playing God". I think many things could go wrong with this. Obviously, the species went extinct for a reason and I believe it would be hard to keep the species alive now. Very interesting topic though, especially with the topic of CRISPR/Cas 9!
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy to even imagine seeing a real live breathing woolly mammoth... This is such a fascinating use of the the CRISPR/Cas 9 system, yet it is also freighting to know its capabilities. The ethics behind this development must be questioned endlessly and it will be interesting to see how this progresses.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has seen all of the Jurassic Park movies, this topic is both exciting and frightening. While I do think that CRISPR/Cas9 system is an incredible breakthrough for science, it definitely pushes the boundaries. As Rachel mentioned, this gets dangerously close to "playing God," and we saw how well that worked out in Jurassic Park. (Spoiler alert: People got eaten.) And while of course Jurassic Park is fictional, I think it represents the fact that there should be limits on how far we take science.
ReplyDeleteIf something like this were to take off in the near future, I would for sure support it! Something like this could propel a new wave a information for scientists and ordinary citizens alike, allowing for scientists to now study the same animals and beings that we study so hard through other means. People could now be able to see a lot of the animals that they are taught about in school and elsewhere. The revival of animals into our current, for the benefit of science, would bring positive change, and would be something every one should support!
ReplyDelete