Essay On De-Extinction Of Animals

De-Extinction of Animals by Scientific Means

Years ago, species such as the Pyrenean Ibex, Passenger Pigeon, and the Wooly Mammoth used to roam the very same earth that we humans walk today. These species, along with many others have gone extinct over the course of time and now only fossils remain. However, Scientists are using biotechnology in an attempt to bring these species back from the dead. This process is known as de-extinction. De-Extinction, also known as resurrection biology, is the scientific process of resurrecting species that have died out, or gone extinct (Britannica). Scientists are using three different techniques in their attempt to resurrect these species which includes breeding back, genetic engineering, cloning.

Breeding back is described as a natural or human

attempt to re-assemble the genes of an extinct species. This is a very controversial topic and is frequently questioned as to whether it can be accomplished. However, breeding back has an advantage over the most popular scientific process, cloning, because it would be able to produce an entire population instead of just a single individual like cloning would produce. Stichting Taurus, a Dutch preservationist group, is
leading a project to breed back the Aurochs, which was a large species of cattle dating as far back as 2 million years ago and living until almost 400 years ago. They are attempting to breed current cattle that produce some of the Aurochs genes and produce a separate breed of cattle, called Heck Cattle, which only possess the original Aurochs genes (Dire Wolf Project).
Another process scientists are attempting to accomplish de-extinction is genetic
engineering. Genetic engineering is the deliberate, controlled manipulation of the genes in an organism with the intent of making that organism better in some way. Scientists are currently attempting to bring back the passenger pigeon using this method. The bird became extinct in 1914 due to destruction of its natural habitat and overhunting of the species. A non-profit organization called the Revive and Restore project is currently attempting to revive the passenger pigeon using genetic engineering and says "This is the first project to revive an extinct animal using its museum-specimen DNA”. However, in order to genetic engineering to work a high quality genetic sample is needed proving as a drawback to the process (Tech Times).
Cloning is the third and most popular ways scientists are attempting to accomplish de-extinction. Cloning describes the processes used to create an exact genetic replica of another cell, tissue or organism (nih). On July 30, 2003 a team of Spanish and French scientists were the first people to come closest to accomplishing de-extinction. They had managed to use a form of cloning to bring back the extinct Pyrenean ibex only for it to die minutes later. The cells of the last Pyrenean Ibex that ever lived were preserved in labs in Zaragoza and Madrid. Scientists then injected nuclei from the preserved cells into goat eggs that were emptied of their own DNA, and then implanted into surrogate mothers. It took 57 implications and only seven goats had gotten pregnant. Out of those seven pregnancies, six resulted in a miscarriage. However, one goat managed to carry a clone of the extinct ibex to full term. When the baby was born, it struggled to breathe and within ten minutes had passed away. The scientists discovered that one of the clone’s lungs had grown a gigantic extra lobe therefore its death was unavoidable (National Geographic).
Also, not all extinct animals can be brought back if de-extinction is ever accomplished. For example, dinosaurs as seen in Jurassic Park will never be brought back to life like in the
movies.

Candidates for de-extinction must meet a certain amount of criteria in order to be

considered for the process of de-extinction. Some of the questions asked when viewing an animal as a candidate for de-extinction are as follows. Has it been extinct for less than 800k years? Is there enough DNA for sequencing? Does it have a sufficient habitat for it to thrive? The answers to these questions are all determining factors as to whether an extinct animal has the possibility to be brought back (Revive Restore).

Cloning in order to complete de-extinction is a very controversial topic nowadays. However, many people never even heard of de-extinction or thought about the possible effects of its completion until the release of one iconic film. In 1993, a film directed by Steven Spielberg was released with the title Jurassic Park. The movie is about the de-extinction of dinosaurs that are then used as a famous attraction known as Jurassic Park where the animals can be viewed by the public. This film got many people thinking about what would happen if dinosaurs and other extinct species were brought back to life and gives a negative representation of de-extinction (National

Geographic).
Although Jurassic Park is not possible due to the fact that dinosaurs have been extinct to long making it impossible for them to be brought back; many scientists still express negative comments about de-extinction and the use of cloning to complete the process of it. According to Stewart Brand from yale.edu; de-extinction would be so expensive and high-visibility that it would divert money and attention from crucial programs to protect endangered species. Stanford researchers also express negatives of de-extinction by use of cloning and other methods. Some negatives expressed include that species could carry retroviruses or pathogens when brought back to life, de-extinct species would be alien and potentially invasive; their habitats and food sources have changed, so their roles in these changed ecosystems could be too, and that de-extinction may change priorities in other fields of science, such as medical research (Discover Magazine).
Conservation Ecologist, Stuart Primm, has stated “The prospect of bringing species back from extinction would lead Congress to support the destruction of natural habitats, because animals that go extinct could be revived in a lab.” Although there are many negative statements about de-extinction and the use of cloning to help accomplish it, there are also positive benefits of de-extinction as well. Stanford researchers also stated that de-extinction could offer insights into evolution and natural resources that are currently unavailable to us, provide technological advancements, and potentially benefit the environment (Discover Magazine). Overall, de-extinction by use of cloning has yet to be accomplished and continues to remain a controversial topic amongst scientists and others alike.