Gabrielle Martinez
Biology 1010
De-extinction
De-extinction is using genetics to recreate or clone an extinct species.
This can be done through cloning or cross-breeding an existing descendent
of the species that is being attempted to recreate. Why? Well, basically
because we think we can. I say think because we don’t necessarily have the
technology, yet.
There are some pros and cons to bringing back an extinct species. It
definitely is fascinating to think we could be able to see a mammoth, or an
extinct wildcat. Although, we would not be able to give the animals the
environment they need to thrive. For example, the mammoth needs a vast,
cold, frozen wasteland of a place to thrive like it did way back when. There is
no place like that around today. Sure, we could try to make one, but who’s
to say it wouldn’t go the way of Jurassic Park, but a weird mammoth
version?
The scientific advantage of bringing back species would be having the
ability to do blood work and actively study the species without just working
from the guesses of how the species acted or looked. They could witness
firsthand, assuming we wouldn’t have something, like the mammoth, being
put in the south-pole because it’s the closest thing we could get to its
natural environment. The species being brought back wouldn’t necessarily
be a fierce wild cat or a giant, hairy overly aggressive elephant; it could be a
sloth or a pigeon. It may not be the most interesting thing to some, but
bringing a species back to life is still pretty fantastic, even if it is a pigeon.
There are a few ways that could be used to de-extinct some species.
Cloning, breeding backwards are main ways. Cloning is seen as the best way
to achieve de-extinction. With cloning, an exact genetic copy of the species
can be made. Having the DNA and tissues that are needed to clone a species
are not always available, although for many of the species it is available.
Breeding backward is a method that requires using DNA from the
extinct species and crossing it with the DNA of a close descendent of the
species. For example, if scientists wanted to bring back an extinct sloth, they
would first start with the DNA genome of the extinct species. They would
take the DNA from the extinct sloth and manufacture an exact copy and
implant it within an existing sloth that is closely related to the extinct. This
would produce a sloth with some of the genetic material of an extinct sloth.
The hope then would be to keep crossing sloths with this extinct DNA, until
the genome is predominantly the extinct DNA. At this point, the DNA of the
“new” sloth would be compared and closely analyzed alongside the extinct
sloth’s DNA. A new, but previously extinct sloth would then exist.
I personally think that de-extinction is a really fascinating thing, but it
is more theory than actuality at this point. I also struggle with the thought of
bringing back all of these old species when the technology could be used to
help stop the extinction of so many existing species; for example, polar
bears. No, they are not extinct yet, but environmental factors are slowly
killing them off. Another example of species going extinct is Galapagos
tortoises, at least the pure bred Galapagos tortoises. Since they live so long,
it is hard to do research on how long they can reproduce because the
tortoise will outlive probably several researchers. There are very few pure
Galapagos tortoises left, and nearly all of them are in zoos or conservatories.
Scientists do believe that there are several species of tortoise that are part
Galapagos tortoise after DNA analysis showed several similarities between
different breeds and the Galapagos.
Also, I do not think we could ever support the environment some of
these species need. As I eluded earlier, we can’t really ship off a herd of
mammoths to the south pole. It would be very difficult to do any research on
them because the environment may be decent for a mammoth, but horrid
for humans. Keeping mammoths in a lab would also not be a great idea.
They’re huge, for one, also, the thick, wooly coat would probably become
the death of them.
I also have a problem with bringing back species, because people with
millions of dollars to waste would try to find ways to own these rare species
and exploit them. The rich do it now with rare tigers and other random
animals. I honestly do think that scientists have the right intentions, I just
don’t think de-extinction would be something good until the species going
extinct right now are helped before bringing back the mammoth.