Resurrecting the dead - "de-extinction"

[Guillermo]

Hooray for eye-catching titles.

So, as everyone knows (or at least should know), mammoths, Sabre-tooth tigers, and thylacines are all examples of animals that we no longer see. They're extinct. However, scientists have figured out a way to "resurrect" these creatures through DNA remnants and closest living relatives. Here's an example:

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/files/2013/03/mammoth-cloning.jpg

Since this is a very real concept (called de-extinction) that scientists are actually able to perform, should they bring back these extinct animals? Just because the animal is resurrected, does it mean that it's the same animal as the former who died out? Would these animals be prepared for a world even more dominated by humans and climate change?

[xmojox]

I don't see a problem with doing that. It'd be kinda cool, actually.

[BandedKlepto]

If this is successful and they bring the past back, I want a saber tooth kitty. :3 Muahaha

[Abyssal Echo]

I'm not so sure this is a good idea. Idk why but for some reason the movie Jurasic Park comes to mind.

[Cicero]

And what would make us think we could potentially control these creatures? It'd be cool, but how would we make these animals safe and no able to get lose?

[Twilly F. Sniper]

I see that Jurassic Park is quite a prediction for the future.

[Gwen]

They're extinct for a reason, no point in digging up the past.

[anyone50]

They're extinct for a reason, no point in digging up the past.

What your talking about is natural selection and some say nature has selected these animals to become extinct because they couldn't adapt for one reason or another. Bringing them back wouldn't really change this unless you plan on keeping them in an artificial enviroment like a zoo. On the other hand if a species has become endangered or extinct becuse of human behavior which includes the senseless hunting and killing or destroying it's natural habitat then i belive we have a obligation to try and perserve and if need be bring it back.

[HahaWaitWhat]

I admit, it would be cool to see but it doesn't exactly sound safe. The Apocalypse or I Am Legend comes to mind.

[Castle of Glass]

as i am currently doing DNA and genetics in bio, i am going to show this(the picture) to my bio teacher. he'll love it.

[Jess]

It would be neat to bring extinct animals back, but I'm not sure they would be able to survive in the current condition our world is in...they'll have to be kept in a zoo...and I'm sort of with Mattie...Jurassic Park comes to mind to me as well.

[Ryhanna]

And what would make us think we could potentially control these creatures? It'd be cool, but how would we make these animals safe and no able to get lose?

They do a good job of keeping potentially dangerous animals docile in zoos all over the world, don't they? I'd imagine it wouldn't be any harder than that.

In theory, it sounds like a good idea. Bringing back animals from the past. Honestly, in a properly controlled environment, the only thing I think could go wrong is that we screw up their DNA and create a blob rather than an animal.

[xmojox]

It would be neat to bring extinct animals back, but I'm not sure they would be able to survive in the current condition our world is in...they'll have to be kept in a zoo...and I'm sort of with Mattie...Jurassic Park comes to mind to me as well.

Yeah, they'd have to be kept in captivity. If they tried to release them into the wild it'd play hell with the local ecosystem.

[TheBassoonist]

If they're kept in a specially managed environment, then they have the capability to survive in modern times. If they were released into the wild, they wouldn't last long. They went extinct for a reason, as stated earlier. Cloning mammoths and putting them back in Siberia really won't work.

[Nellerin]

If they're kept in a specially managed environment, then they have the capability to survive in modern times. If they were released into the wild, they wouldn't last long. They went extinct for a reason, as stated earlier. Cloning mammoths and putting them back in Siberia really won't work.

The people behind this project have certain guidelines for the animals they chose to bring back. One of those guidelines is that they must have gone extinct due to humans.

If an animal goes extinct due to humans which is an "unnatural" occurrence, the animal's spot in the food chain is still available meaning they can transition into the wild once again without any major issue.

Granted, it would be a VERY long time before they would have an entire group of any of these animals, except for the birds... birds are easy to deal with. :D

[Sir Suomi]

I think not. I get chills down my spine every time we humans try to play God. I'm always afraid we're gonna screw up, and somehow have it lead to our downfall(Such as creating a virus with seemingly no cure, some scary zombie type people, sharks with lazer beams attached to their heads...).

[Nellerin]

I think not. I get chills down my spine every time we humans try to play God. I'm always afraid we're gonna screw up, and somehow have it lead to our downfall(Such as creating a virus with seemingly no cure, some scary zombie type people, sharks with lazer beams attached to their heads...).

I agree with the playing God point of view. But in these situations, we technically played God by killing them off in the first place.

So should we make things right by bringing them back?

[Sir Suomi]

I agree with the playing God point of view. But in these situations, we technically played God by killing them off in the first place.

So should we make things right with God by bringing them back?

That's debatable. I'd say no. Two wrongs don't make a right, as the saying goes. Now, for pure scientific research, if cloning a handful of a species, it would be understandable. But releasing them into the wild? Unless their extinction was very recent(No more than 10 or 20 years), it would be a terrible move. Introducing a new species to an environment almost never goes well for the native species of the area.

[Nellerin]

That's debatable. I'd say no. Two wrongs don't make a right, as the saying goes. Now, for pure scientific research, if cloning a handful of a species, it would be understandable. But releasing them into the wild? Unless their extinction was very recent(No more than 10 or 20 years), it would be a terrible move. Introducing a new species to an environment almost never goes well for the native species of the area.

Ya I'm just going off of the group that presented the de-extinction concept at TEDx this week. They seem to be confident that each of these animals "seat" in the food chain is still warm and ready to be taken back.

I personally figured it would cause issues, but then the scientists say something different, so I don't know what to think when it comes to them releasing the animals into the wild.

[randomnessqueen]

i dont think this will actually become practically possible. and if it were, i dont think it would be a good idea. it couldnt survive normally by any means, its only purpose would be for experimentation, which flies in the face of already existing animal experimentation laws, though they would probably get around those by making some claims that these animals dont count or something.

[LouBerry]

I'm too worried about it, as long as they don't start bringing back dinosaurs. :/

[Gigablue]

We've actually already done this with one extinct species. It was called the Pyrenean ibex. It went extinct in 2000, but scientists preserved some tissue before the last one died. They managed to clone it in 2009, but the clone died a few minutes later. It become the only species to go extinct twice.

I don't think we should clone another extinct species until we manage to perfect cloning technology. We also need to plan what to do with the clone, since we can't just release it into the wild.

[Guillermo]

I'm too worried about it, as long as they don't start bringing back dinosaurs. :/

They wouldn't do that. The gene sequences are so far incomplete for dinosaurs because they've been extinct for so long. Also, dinosaurs were extinct before humans even came into play - therefore humans had nothing to do with their extinction unlike mammoths, carrier pigeons, and thylacines.

[LouBerry]

They wouldn't do that. The gene sequences are so far incomplete for dinosaurs because they've been extinct for so long. Also, dinosaurs were extinct before humans even came into play - therefore humans had nothing to do with their extinction unlike mammoths, carrier pigeons, and thylacines.

That was a joke. (:

[Andy daMuzak mAn]

What your talking about is natural selection and some say nature has selected these animals to become extinct because they couldn't adapt for one reason or another. Bringing them back wouldn't really change this unless you plan on keeping them in an artificial enviroment like a zoo. On the other hand if a species has become endangered or extinct becuse of human behavior which includes the senseless hunting and killing or destroying it's natural habitat then i belive we have a obligation to try and perserve and if need be bring it back.

This!!! :)

[paulw]

I dont like that "backcross hybrids" bit at alllll. There's a reason incest is a bad idea. Really small gene pool. How could you tell the difference between the "real" mammoth genes you got right, and the ones where you accidentally caused mutations that could lead to horrible diseases? Plus you would need a LOT of mammoth hybrids to get it right!!

And if you got it wrong and ended up with an animal with broken defences against some sort of parasite or disease, you could end up with it incubating something else nasty and totally unintended. Sounds risky to me.

[Hunter_Steel]

Wooly Mamoths only have one natural habitat and that is a place the represents the Ice Age periods on Earth. Places like Siberia, Alaska, North and South Poles, Iceland and Greenland come to mind when you think of the potential places that these creatures will be at home.

Dinosaurs can never live on this planet because there is too little oxygen for creatures that big. Thats why they don't exist and only in miniature form.

~Hunter