Almost Science Fiction: De-extinction

Dromornis stirtoni- this thing was 10 ft tall and weighed 1100 pounds!

So, during these quarantine days, I have been reading Sapiens and I came across a part mentioning how, as Homo sapiens spread all over the world, we caused (along with climate change) the extinction of a remarkable number of remarkable species.  Take for example the countless species of megafauna all over the globe from the saber-toothed cats of North America to the giant Dromornis birds of Australia. upward

A Great Film!

Intrigued, I began looking up more about extinct species and came across the term de-extinction also known as resurrection biology which is the scientific process of bringing back extinct animals. Yes, it is real-life Jurassic Park, however, there’s a long road to reviving a dinosaur and let’s hope no one goes down that path.

 

There are three types of de-extinction:

Cloning- Scientists are able to use the DNA from the cell nucleus of the extinct species and insert it into an egg of a closely related species that is lacking a nucleus.  They used this process on a bucardo, a goat-like creature that dwelled in parts of France, Portugal, and Spain.  Bucardos went extinct in the year 2000, but before the last bucardo died, scientists got a sample of her DNA and implanted it in a goat in 2003. A new baby bucardo was born but died ten minutes later from the malformed lung. Since then, cloning has improved and scientists can now often successfully clone animals.

A Bucardo

Genome editing- Scientist are able to edit the DNA of an organism by cutting the DNA strand at certain points. As we know from our evolution unit when species are closely related they can share an astounding amount of DNA.  So with some species, take for example the band-tailed pigeon and the extinct passenger pigeon. These two are share so much of the same DNA that with a little genome editing, the egg of a band-tailed pigeon could be “transformed” into a passenger pigeon.

A passenger pigeon

Back Breeding- this is the selective breeding of a closely related species in which breeders choose for the traits of the extinct species. This method recreates the traits of the extinct species, but this new species designed to replicate the extinct one will remain genetically different.  For example, aurochs were the “original cattle,” native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa.  By breeding today’s ordinary cattle and selecting for Auroch traits people are attempting to bring back this species. Although none are exact, there are now many new breeds of cattle that strongly represent Auroch genomes.

An illustration of an auroch

So now that we know bringing back extinct species is possible, the question remains: is this ethical?  There are so many points to consider: If an animal’s species is extinct, how will it be raised and taught to survive? If the species became extinct in the first place, what if the environment is just too inhospitable, and bringing this creature back will only cause it to suffer?  Is it wrong to alter “nature’s course?”  And so on...

Although de-extinction is ethically questionable, the need for science like this becomes more prevalent as more and more animals reach the brink of extinction, and humans increasingly make this planet more inhospitable to some of it’s most magnificent creatures.  Of course, there’s another side to this, that scientists may bring back certain creatures for entertainment rather than environmental restoration. As scientists begin to use this technology to bring back creatures that have been extinct for thousands of years such as woolly mammoths and even neanderthals, this scientific breakthrough begins to enter the realm of science fiction. I’m not sure how to feel about this technology, but I hope it is used with the utmost care, thought, and responsibility.