Revival of extinct animals is now possible, scientists say

Though not quite Jurassic Park, scientists believe species dead over tens of thousands of years could be revived as long as enough intact ancient DNA is available for them to work with.

 

According to Discovery News and LiveScience, in 2003, biologists created a clone of the Pyrenean ibex using a frozen tissue sample acquired from the goat species before its extinction in 2000. The clone died seven minutes after birth, but it made scientists realize that “de-extinction” was possible.

 

Now there are talks amongst researchers and conservationists about reviving other extinct animals, such as the woolly mammoth and the North American passenger pigeon.

 

The challenge is in finding dead animals with DNA that has not yet reached a state of degradation that it is unusable. Fortunately for woolly mammoth enthusiasts, the Siberian permafrost is home to some remarkably well preserved remains of this creature. Russian and South Korean scientists aim to resurrect the species, which vanished 3,000 and 10,000 years ago, by combining an Asian elephant egg with the DNA extracted from the nucleus of a mammoth cell.

 

Outside Arctic conditions, however, scientists have to resort to other means to procure DNA from long dead species. Some have developed a method of putting together the genomes of extinct animals from museum specimens. This is exactly what Harvard genetics expert George Church and his team did. 

From a 100-year-old taxidermed museum specimen’s DNA, they were able to rebuild 1 billion letters in the bird’s genome. The next step is to combine select genes with a common rock pigeon’s to produce an animal that resembles the original creature.

 

Possible consequences

 

Duke University’s Stuart Pimm argued that de-extinction could harm the conservation effort, as bringing back extinct animals could create the false impression that science can save endangered species. Science journalist Carl Zimmer, on the other hand, believes it could encourage support for species preservation.

 

"Some people feel that watching scientists bring back the great auk and putting it back on a breeding colony would be very inspiring," Zimmer said about the large flightless bird prevalent in the Northern Hemisphere before its extinction in the mid-19th century.

 

Other species to be considered for de-extinction

 

Aside from more popular species such as the saber-toothed cat and the Tasmanian tiger, the Australian gastric brooding frog, which disappeared in the 1980s, is another extinct species likely to be revived soon. This was the only species whose female could swallow fertilized eggs, turn its stomachs into a uterus, then give birth though the mouth. 

 

"No animal, let alone a frog, has been known to do this – change one organ in the body into another," said paleontologist Mike Archer of the University of New South Wales. His team is already in the process of bringing the creature back; using cloning methods similar to those employed to revive other extinct species, they have already created early-stage embryos of the gastric brooding frog. — TJD, GMA News