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Is it possible to bring back extinct animal species?

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Mankind has been tinkering with natural life for thousands of years.

We’ve gotten remarkably good at it, too — to date, we’ve modified bacteria to make medicines, grown plants with built-in pesticides, and even made a glow-in-the-dark dog.

However, despite our many achievements in the field of genetic engineering, we are still working to bring extinct animals back to life.

But scientists are working on it. In fact, an entire area of ​​biology is focused 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 die out.

The benefits of extinction

First things first – what’s the point of bringing back extinct animals?

There are a number of research benefits that come with Obliteration. For example, some scientists believe that studying previously extinct animals and studying how they function could help fill in some of the gaps in our current theories about evolution.

The extinction could also have a positive impact on the environment. Because when an animal goes extinct, its absence affects all of the flora and fauna involved in that animal’s food web.

Because of this, reintroducing previously extinct species into their ancient ecosystems could help rebalance and restore imbalanced environments.

There’s even a possibility that extinction could slow global warming. Scientist Sergey Zimov believes that if we reintroduced an animal similar to the woolly mammoth to the tundra, it could help repopulate the area, regrow old plains, and possibly contribute to the melting of the ice caps slow it down.

How does it work?

The key element needed to recreate a species is its DNA.

Unfortunately, DNA slowly degrades, and once it’s completely gone, there’s no way to restore it. Researchers believe that DNA has a half-life of 521 years, which is after that 6.8 million yearsit is believed to have completely disappeared.

Because of this, species like dinosaurs have virtually no chance of becoming extinct. However, many organisms that have become extinct more recently, such as the dodo, may have a chance at conservation.

When it comes to de-extinction, there it is three main techniques:

① Cloning

It’s the only way to create an exact DNA replica of something.

However, this requires a complete genome, so this form of genetic rescue is most effective for species that have recently been lost or are on the brink of extinction.

② genome editing

Genome editing is the manipulation of DNA to mimic extinct 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 one.

Since it is not an exact copy of the extinct species’ DNA, this method will produce a hybrid species that only resembles the extinct animal.

③ backbreeding

A form of breeding in which a distinguishing feature of an extinct species (a horn or color pattern) is bred back into living populations.

This requires that the trait still be present at some frequency in similar species, and the trait is selectively bred back into popularity.

As with genome editing, this method does not resurrect an extinct species, but rather the DNA and genetic diversity that gave the extinct species a distinctive trait.

Is it really worth bringing back extinct animal species?

While the idea of ​​bringing back extinct animal species has garnered a lot of buzz and potential, there are some critics who believe our efforts should be better spent on other things.

Research into the economics of extinction found that the money would go further if invested in conservation programs for living species — around two to eight times more species could be saved if invested in existing conservation programs.

In an article in Sciencesaid Joseph Bennett, a biologist at Carleton University in Ottawa, “if [a] Billionaire is only interested in bringing a species back from the dead, in empowering him or her.”

Bennett added: “But when this billionaire puts it like it’s about biodiversity conservation, that’s disingenuous. There are now many species out there that are in danger of extinction that could be saved with the same resources.”