Humanity has been dealing with natural life for thousands of years. We’ve also become extremely good at it—to date, we’ve engineered bacteria to produce drugs, created crops with built-in pesticides, and even made a dog that glows in the dark. However, despite our many achievements in genetic engineering, one thing we are still working on is bringing extinct animals back to life. But scientists are working on it. In fact, there is an entire field of biology that focuses on reviving extinct species. Using data published in Science News, this graphic provides a brief introduction to the fascinating field of science known as resurrection biology – or de-extinction.
The benefits of De-Extinction
First thing’s first – what’s the point of bringing back extinct animals?
There are a number of research advantages that come with being removed. For example, some scientists believe that studying animals that have gone extinct in the past and looking at how they functioned could help fill in some of the gaps in our current theories about evolution.
Removal could also have beneficial effects on the environment. This is because when an animal goes extinct, its absence has a ripple effect on all the flora and fauna involved in that animal’s food web.
Because of this, reintroducing previously extinct species back into their old ecosystems could help balance and restore environments that are out of climate.
There is even the possibility that de-extinction could slow global warming. Scientist Sergey Zimov believes that if we reintroduced an animal similar to the woolly mammoth back to the tundra, it could help repopulate the area, regenerate the ancient plains and possibly slow the melting of the ice caps.
How does it work?
The key element needed to recreate a species is its DNA. Unfortunately, DNA degrades slowly and once it is completely gone, there is no way to get it back. Researchers believe that DNA has a half-life of 521 years, so after 6.8 million years, it is believed to be completely gone. That’s why species like dinosaurs have virtually no chance of extinction. However, many more recently extinct organisms, such as the dodo, could have a chance of survival. When it comes to release, there are three main techniques:
① Cloning
This is the only way to make an exact DNA copy of something. However, a complete genome is required for this, so this form of genetic rescue is most effective with recently lost or near-extinction species.
② Genome editing
Genome editing is the manipulation of DNA to mimic missing DNA. There are several ways to do this, but generally, the process involves researchers manipulating the genomes of living species to create a new species that closely resembles an extinct species. Because it is not an exact copy of the DNA of the extinct species, this method will create a hybrid species that only resembles the extinct animal.
③ Back-Breeding
A form of breeding where a distinctive feature from an extinct species (a horn or color pattern) is bred back into living populations. This requires that the trait still exists at some frequency in similar species, and the trait selectively returns in popularity. Like genome editing, this method does not resurrect an extinct species, but resurrects the DNA and genetic diversity that gave the extinct species a characteristic.
Is it really worth it to bring back extinct animal species?
While there is a lot of buzz and potential around the idea of bringing back extinct animal species, there are some critics who believe our efforts would be better spent on other things. Research into the economics of extinction found that money would go further if invested in conservation programs for living species – about two to eight times as many species could be saved if invested in existing conversation programs. In an article in Science, Joseph Bennett, a biologist at Carleton University in Ottawa, said “if [a] The billionaire is only interested in bringing a species back from the dead, power to him or her.” Bennett added, “however, if this billionaire sees it as protecting biodiversity, then that’s disingenuous. There are many species out there on the brink of extinction right now that could be saved with the same resources.”
