Science Should biologists resurrect extinct species?

Debi

Owner/Admin
Staff
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
240,747
Reaction score
232,178
Points
315
Location
South of Indy
Biologists Could Soon Resurrect Extinct Species. But Should They?

At the Scripps Research Institute, regenerative medicine researcher Jeanne Loring has figured out how to make induced pluripotent stem cells, capable of transforming into any cell type in the body, out of rhino skin. She and her team are now working out how to turn them into rhino eggs and sperm. If successful, they should be able to create new rhinos via in vitro fertilization, saving the animal from extinction—or more likely, bringing it back from the dead.

The white rhino isn’t the only beast on the verge of resurrection. For species that are already wholly extinct, scientists are turning to massive caches of animal and plant cells stored in deep-freeze repositories like the Cryo Collection, buried in the bowels of the American Museum of Natural History. Others are using a method called anthropogenic hybridization—crossbreeding a dying species with a similar, living one so that some of its characteristics survive.

With these methods and others, biologists may soon be able to bring animals back from the dead. That’s a thrilling but distinctly unnatural approach to preserving nature. And some scientists and conservationists are asking if resurrection is really the right way to save the Earth’s threatened species.

Full story at site
_________________________________________________________

We can do it, but should we? Is it the right thing to do? And where do we draw the line?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 7Critter
Biologists Could Soon Resurrect Extinct Species. But Should They?

At the Scripps Research Institute, regenerative medicine researcher Jeanne Loring has figured out how to make induced pluripotent stem cells, capable of transforming into any cell type in the body, out of rhino skin. She and her team are now working out how to turn them into rhino eggs and sperm. If successful, they should be able to create new rhinos via in vitro fertilization, saving the animal from extinction—or more likely, bringing it back from the dead.

The white rhino isn’t the only beast on the verge of resurrection. For species that are already wholly extinct, scientists are turning to massive caches of animal and plant cells stored in deep-freeze repositories like the Cryo Collection, buried in the bowels of the American Museum of Natural History. Others are using a method called anthropogenic hybridization—crossbreeding a dying species with a similar, living one so that some of its characteristics survive.

With these methods and others, biologists may soon be able to bring animals back from the dead. That’s a thrilling but distinctly unnatural approach to preserving nature. And some scientists and conservationists are asking if resurrection is really the right way to save the Earth’s threatened species.

Full story at site
_________________________________________________________

We can do it, but should we? Is it the right thing to do? And where do we draw the line?

um . . . generally and for the sake of testing science - No. If there is something that would benefit all of mankind - perhaps.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Grinchesbro
I don't think we should bring any back .I really think we need to focus on fixing some of our bigger problems .Such as filling our oceans with nuclear waste ,and contaminating our drinking supply with nuclear dumps in our back yards . Yeah ...We should create life to live in such a mess :confused:
 
  • Like
Reactions: 7Critter and Debi
The Tasmanian Tiger is one of my favorite animals, so seeing one in real life would be amazing. That being said, I think we'd be better off learning how to prevent extinctions from happening rather than rely on fixing the problem later, so to speak.

Not to mention all the implications that arise from introducing or reintroducing a species into an environment that may or may not have moved on without it in its ecological system.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Debi and 7Critter