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Recommended: De-extinction essays
Scientists have been attempting to recreate the woolly mammoth's genetic information. They have made bringing back the woolly mammoth or even other extinct animals “theoretically” possible. We are still deciding if bringing the woolly mammoth back into the environment is attainable and if this is what scientists should be focusing on, as well the pros and cons of this process. The scientists call it: de-extinction. Before I explain how this will be even scientifically possible, let’s compare this as a real life Jurassic Park experience, at first it was an ingenious idea. Additionally, can we talk about how much this will affect us? They are starting the process currently, and in about the next three years, we will have a real life woolly mammoth roaming the earth. We have little time to panic as our awaited deaths will be soon from a “science experiment”. Many people are concerned about the impact this will have on ecosystems and environments, and how this technology could make de-extinction a real part of our future. …show more content…
They are working on recreating this species by working with Asian elephants as a template, they are injecting live elephant embryos with woolly mammoth’s genetic information to create a living animal with DNA similar to a woolly mammoth’s.
The way they have edited 15 genes to resemble a woolly mammoth's is with a technology called CRISPR-Cas9. This enables editing of genetic material by cutting and pasting DNA code sequences. Scientists are working on editing 30 more genetic codes and by the start of 2020, we will have a real life woolly mammoth on our earth. They have an international team working on the editing and developing of recreating woolly mammoth DNA coding and they are lead by Harvard Geneticist Dr. George
Church. While this is occurring all of a sudden, I’ll address the many thoughts that might come into mind, such as, how could a woolly mammoth influence our environment? There is no released information about where they are keeping the genetically modified Asian Elephants, and where they will place the woolly mammoths once developed. There is little explanation of what they might experiment with in further de-extinction, or why they choose to explore this new topic of interest. Are we in a world of living history? Will Jurassic park become a reality? First, the woolly mammoth, a new creature from the past, coming to our world in just 3 years after being gone for almost 4,000. This has been your daily news, we’ll keep you posted.
Humans have driven many animals extinct, but should we bring them back is the question. Geneticists, biologists, conservationists and ethicists gathered to discuss the controversies. Some people say in doing this we are playing God, while others say we did by killing them. Other scientist say that it may be beneficial because it will add biodiversity, and medicinal properties back to the ecosystem. It is only possible to bring species back from around 10 thousand years ago. Recently scientists have vastly improved the cloning process. We can now coax adult animal cells into any type of cell, including eggs and sperm, then manipulating them into full-fledged embryos, which has led to the ideas and developments of reviving many other species including mammoths, frogs and
How would you like to live in a bathtub your entire life? Never get to leave that tub, and the only purpose of your life is for the pure enjoyment and entertainment of others. You wouldn’t would you? So what makes humans think a twelve ton Orca, that in nature swims about an average of one hundred miles daily, would want to be kept in a pool its whole life? Keeping Orcas in captivity, strictly for show, when the pool is too small, and they are not kept in good physical or mental health. Some argue SeaWorld is not a problem that it is good enough for research, because SeaWorld gives them protection from the outside world where they wouldn’t survive as long, or that being kept in a pool simply doesn’t affect them physically or mentally. SeaWorld is inhumane to Orcas they do not take care of their physical or mental health, it causes the animals stress and anxiety, and causes them to be aggressive, leading to deathly situations.
There are plenty controversial issues about bully breeds and whether they are acceptable or safe dogs to own. In July a woman was mauled in her yard and killed by a dog in Montreal. Due to this unfortunate incident the mayor Denis Coderre created a bill called BSL (Breed-Specific Legislation) which was approved by the legislation. This bill states that determined by their breed or pitbull features “American Pitbull Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, American Bulldogs or any dog with strains of these breeds” will be unadoptable; they must wear a muzzle in public as well as a leash that’s 4 feet long and in most cases they will be euthanized due to their breed. BSL should be reversed because the real problem is irresponsible dog owners, the irresponsible owners will just switch breeds and any dog has the potential to hurt someone.
The re-wilding of North America is basically a conservation strategy (Donlan 2005), aimed at restoring the Pleistocene era (Donlan 2005, Rubenstein et al. 2006). This could be achieved by reintroducing African and Asian megafauna, these species are phylogenetically known to be direct descendents of the extinct Pleistocene species or animals of similar taxa (Donlan 2005, Rubenstein et al. 2006). Re-populating North America is essential for both ecological and evolutionary potential (Donlan 2005) and also economic gain (Donlan 2005, Rubenstein et al. 2006). In this paper I will be discussing the main arguments presented by two papers regarding the Pleistocene North America re-wilding. The first paper is written by Donlan (2005), it is a commentary paper in which he proposes the plan of re-wilding North America based on his opinions. The second paper is by Rubenstein et al. (2006), it is a research paper where he outlines some facts contrary to Donlan (2005)’s paper, unlike Donlan (2005)‘s paper his arguments were supported by variety of recent Scientific published papers which are relevant to the topic discussed.
How many people can say that they have a pet that has been around, in some form or other, for 300 million years? Reptiles are fascinating animals that have been around since the Carboniferous Period, 300 million years ago. Many different species of reptiles have come and gone over the course of time and there are five main groups. Turtles and tortoises are distinguished by the presence of their carapace, or shells, which is also their main defense against predators. Lizards are the most diverse and varied among the reptiles with many different types from chameleons, to iguanas, to geckos, to monitor lizards which includes the largest of all lizards; the Komodo dragon. Tuataras are the most ancient of reptiles and can be found exclusively on the island of New Zealand. Snakes are distinguished by the presence of no limbs, stretchy jaws to swallow large food items, and a mainly carnivorous diet. Crocodiles and alligators have evolved from the group of creatures that gave rise to the dinosaurs and have rough scaly skin, huge jaws and have been known to spend much of their time near water. People fear reptiles because some are dangerous to them including venomous reptiles. However, most reptiles are actually harmless and only a few are undoubtedly dangerous. Still other people are fascinated by reptiles and are interested in learning more about why these animals behave the way they do. This is why many of them actually keep reptiles as pets so they can see how their actions affect how they survive in their habitat. People who keep reptiles as pets can educate themselves by: learning all of the traits and behaviors, and preserve certain species of reptiles if it is critically endangered, and educating other people by letting them see th...
A few states across the country are trying to ban orca captivity. Recently California has taken a major push to try and stop this horrific tragedy. SeaWorld itself has covered up and lied about the life of killer whales and the mistakes that they have made. Many people do not realize the true tragedy that is being made everyday by the capturing of orcas living at SeaWorld.
How do you genetically modify an organism? Genetically Modified Organisms are created in many different ways. First, scientists identify the gene or genetic material that could solve the problem and study the genetic makeup of the plant or animal. Second, copy the needed trait from a “donor” organism and implant it into the DNA of the plant of animals that needs it. Finally, plant the seed or raise the animal to see if it worked. Some scientists start the process by genetically engineering bacteria. This “gene shuffling” and other modifications made to the bacteria are then transferred to the target organisms such as plants, fish, mammals and yeast. These modifications require the work of thousands of scientists who are conducting various labs. Genetic modifications have been happening for over forty years.
...uld result in a two-thirds decline in the world wide polar bear populations in the next 50 years, and since the species has been listed as threatened under the Act, it has experienced stabilization and in some cases increases proving the effectiveness of the efforts put in place. All of these reasons, in conjunction with a plethora of others support the decision to leave the species with a threatened title and arguments against this designation are only backed with mistaken values and thoughts. As we enter a new era of technology, the human population must realize that we create many unintended effects which resonate throughout the other species and environments around the world. As the dominant species on earth, humans must do their part to conserve the natural environment of the world so that important species and aspects of natural history are not eliminated.
This find was seen as extremely important and necessary because of the rate in which large mammals are becoming extinct.
Thousands of years ago, hunting may have been the cause of the extinction of the North American large land mammals. “Moving up into the 1940’s and 50’s some of today’s most prominent game animals were almost non-existent.”(Kerry G) Over-hunting will directly cause the decline in the particular animal’s species. This will effect everything around it, for example ...
Natural predators assist in maintaining this delicate balance by killing on the weakest and sickest animals. However, hunters kill healthy animals who they can find to satisfy their different needs including killing animals as a form of game, trophy or the famous poaching of animals for tusks. The poaching of elephants and rhinos for tusks worldwide is believed to have increased the number of animals without tusks in Africa (Whitfield, 2003). In the last 40 years in Canada, hunting has resulted in bighorn horns of sheep to fall by 25% (Whitfield, 2003). In case hunting of animals, especially poaching continues globally, the number of animal species will decrease rapidly, resulting in extinction of specific species, such as the African rhinos and elephants. A report in Nature Magazine suggests that the decrease of animals may have an effect on the population’s genetics because the weakest animals will pass weak genes to their offspring causing an entire species to have defects. Therefore, it is better for hunters to let nature kill off the weak and sick animals for the preservation of the
Thirty years ago, congress passed a law to protect animals that are at risk of becoming extinct. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 outlined the responsibilities of the government and citizens concerning these animals. It requires that every five years, species are evaluated, and it is decided whether they are okay, endangered, whose population is so low that it is in danger of becoming extinct, or threatened, who are not in as much danger, but whose population is small enough for concern. Threatened and endangered species are then placed on a list, the “red list,” and closely monitored until conditions improve and population numbers increase enough that they can be removed. But how are these animals monitored and how is it possible to get them to the point that they can be removed from the “red list”? To find the answers, many conservationists and scientists have turned to technology. Technology has enabled scientists to help animals reproduce, improve their habitat, and protect them. There are a few disadvantages and opposing viewpoints to this issue. Is it worth the money to use these technologies to save a species from becoming extinct? And more importantly, is it right for humans to intervene with nature? From cloning to satellites, technology has helped save many species from extinction, but is it worth it?
De-extinction is a process that has been experimented with for many years, but has never been completely successful. The ethics and consequences of this idea have been questioned but, de-extinction has the potential to be truly helpful to humans and the environment, and many of the scenarios that people think could happen, are actually impossible. To actually revive a species, there are certain conditions that must be met, and the terrible situations that people think could happen, are unable to actually occur because of the lack of . Bringing species back that are beneficial to the environment could preserve biodiversity, restore diminished ecosystems, advance the science of preventing extinctions, and undo the harm that people have caused in the past. The true potential of the revival of species cannot be realized because people overdramatize the effects and possible outcomes. Once we realize and understand how beneficial the process of de-extinction can be we can better improve our world, our lives, and our ecosystems.
Australian researches have made major steps towards bringing frog that was extinct in 1983 back to life. Although the procedure of de-extinction is much more complex than cloning living animals. A group of scientists (Lazarus Project team) believe humans have the skill and obligation to repair the damage they have done to the world, which has caused numerous species to die out.
The times did a first of its kind analysis of 390 elephant fatalities at accredited U.S. zoos for the past 50 years (Berens 3). It found that most of the elephants died from injury or disease linked to conditions of their captivity from chronic foot problems caused by standing on hard surfaces to musculoskeletal disorders from inactivity caused by being penned or chained for days and weeks at a time. Of the 321 elephant deaths for which The Times had complete records, half were by age 23, more than a quarter before their expected life spans of 50 to 60 years. For every elephant born in a zoo, on average another two die. At that rate, the 288 elephants inside the 78 U.S. zoos could be “demographically extinct” within the next 50 years because there’ll be too few fertile females left to breed, according to zoo industry research (Berens 4).