The Process of De-extinction and Its Ecological and Moral Consequences

1345 Words3 Pages

Imagine going to a local zoo and seeing fantastic extinct and endangered species previously showcased only in museums. Like the scientists in the movie Jurassic Park, the idea of bringing back an extinct species is indeed possible. Every year, thousands of species go extinct that we haven't even discovered yet. With this, several groups are currently working on the process of de-extinction. However, the process of bringing back an extinct species is fairly difficult compared to the cloning of extant animals. Instead, it requires a method called interspecies nuclear transfer.[1]
The process of somatic cell (interspecies) nuclear transfer is an extremely complex process that requires multitude of geneticists and various types of biologists. The process starts by reconstructing the genome, and this can become difficult, because after an organism dies its DNA slowly decays and it can also mix with other organisms' DNA. However, like Jurassic Park, similar species have a higher chance of having identical DNA. This can act as a blueprint for the extinct animal. For instance, Shapiro has been able to sequence the band-tailed pigeon, who is the closest relative to the extinct passenger pigeon, to assemble a genome.[3] In order for this process to work, the cells of the non-endangered species need to sustain the amending of the somatic cell nucleus to an embryological stage, which is hard to accomplish in most species. This microsome transfer can also be used to introduce alternate chromosomes after introducing nucleic acids and repairs into the cell. Before implantation, the new living tissue can be preserved at any stage.[1] Afterwards, these changes are initiated into a living cell with the use of a petri dish to grow the new tissue. ...

... middle of paper ...

... Novak, Ben. “How to Bring Passenger Pigeons All the Way Back." presented to TedX DeExtinction Conference, Washington, D.C., March 2013. http://longnow.org/revive/tedxde extinction/how-to-bring-passenger-pigeons-all-the-way-back/.
4. Olena, Abby. "Testing De-extinction." The Scientist. November 23, 2013. http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/38430/title/Testing-De-extinction/.
5. Poppick, Laura. "Woolly Mammoth Comeback? 5 Ethical Challenges." Live Science. October 8, 2013. http://www.livescience.com/40263-ethics-of-bringing-mammoth-back.html.
6. Rich, Nathaniel. "The Mammoth Cometh." New York Times. Febuary 27, 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/magazine/the-mammothcometh.html?ref= science&_r=1.
7. Zimmer, Carl. "Bring Them Back to Life." National Geographic. April 2013. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/04/125-species-revival/zimmer-text.

Show More
Related

  • The Salton Sea

    5236 Words  | 11 Pages

    8. Taylor, Dan. 1998. Audubon Society Inspired to Action by Bird Die -offs . 17 Jan. 1998 . E-mail . Available bkus@sunstroke.sdsu.edu

    Read More

  • Should We Clone Organs?

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    Have you ever imagined what life would be like if we could eliminate human problems? This is the question that arises when the issue of human cloning or human cloning of the organs is brought up. Cloning is the process where organisms, cells, or microorganisms are copied to produce an almost identical genotype. In other words, the cloning process involves taking a cell from the tissue of a live animal or human, inserting all or some of the genes from that cell into an embryo, which is then placed in the womb of a living creature. There, this embryo is hoped to reproduce into a child, and be born as a clone of the living being from which the cell is taken. Cloning is also called "somatic cell nuclear transfer," it is the transfer of a nucleus of a somatic cell to an egg that has had its nucleus removed. Cloning is beneficial to humanity, and it can help solve organ limitations, cure diseases, and take a giant step toward immortality (Anderson, 60).

    Read More

  • Kant Cloning Theory

    2573 Words  | 6 Pages

    Cloning is a recent innovative technique the National Institute of Health defines as a process employed to produce genetically identical copies of a biological entity. Depending on the purpose for the clone, human health or even human life can be improved or designed respectively. “Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is the most common cloning technique. SCNT involves putting the nucleus of a body cell into an egg from which the nucleus has been removed."^1 From this technique, an embryonic cell is activated to produce an animal that is genetically identical to the donor. Today, human cloning still remains as a vision, but because of the success of Dolly, the lamb, researchers are becoming more confident in the ability to produce a genuine

    Read More

  • Wildlife Preservation in Thinking Like a Mountain

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Thinking Like a Mountain, the author, Aldo Leopold, writes of the importance of wildlife preservation through examples of the symbiotic relationship of animals and plant-life with a mountain. He asks the reader to perceive the processes of a mountainous environment in an unusual way. Aldo Leopold wants the reader to "think" like a mountain instead of thinking of only the immediate, or as the hunter did. Taking away one feature of an ecosystem may eventually destroy everything else that that environment is composed of. Nature and wildness is essential for the well being of life on this earth.

    Read More

  • Human Cloning: Genetic Advancement or Genetic Manipulation?

    1725 Words  | 4 Pages

    Since 1885, there have been a number of researchers, scientists, geneticists, reproductive technologists and embryologists, such as August Weismann, Hans Spemann, Walter Sutton, Paul Berg, Steen Willadsen, et al., who have contributed much to the research and development of our current concepts of cloning. Particularly two of the more recent renowned contributors to cloning research and experimentation are Ian Wilmut, a Ph. D. in animal genetic engineering, and Richard Seed, who founded Fertility and Genetics in the 1980s.

    Read More

  • Ethical Ethics Of Cloning

    1782 Words  | 4 Pages

    Even though cloning methods have been in use for an extended period of time, the idea of a clone was never thought to be realistic until recently. For thousands of years, humans have been cloning plants through asexual propagation. This is simply the process of stem cutting or grafting a mammal was performed in Switzerland nearly 20 years after the carrot plant where mice cells were cloned. Later, in 1997, Dolly the sheep’s mammary cells were cloned (Lee). This was a major success for science because it was the first time an adult cell was used in which results in a clone of the previous generation of the plant and is still a method used today. It wasn’t until 1958 when modern cloning began with a carrot and in 1964 when scientist John Gurdon started the beginning of animal cell cloning of toad tadpoles. The first successful clone of embryonic cell. After scientists gained a greater knowledge of the process of cloning, they realized that it could possibly be used to benefit the world. In 2001, the first endangered species, the bull gaur, was cloned, and in...

    Read More

  • Amber Dinosaurs In Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    Michael Crichton’s classic novel Jurassic Park sparked controversy among scientists, excited science-fiction fans, and captivated paleontologists as Chrichton proposed the idea that dinosaurs could be cloned. The plot elicited criticism from scientists around the world, but support from others. Cloning a dinosaur was made possible in the fictional text: take some amber, fill in missing DNA, obtain an ostrich egg, keep the egg in a controlled environment, then a dinosaur is born. Unfortunately, each of the steps are of intricate design.

    Read More

  • Genetic Engineering: Cloning: Dolly and Eugenics

    1691 Words  | 4 Pages

    Spearmann thought of cloning as a way to study cell differentiation. Briggs and King used the technique of nuclear transfer on amphibians and it was successful (Campbell). “Subsequently John Gurdon demonstrated the potential to reprogram differentiated cells by producing adult Xenopus using epithelial cells from developing tadpole intestine as nuclear donors,” says Alberio Campbell. Unfortunately, later studies show that this method of cloning tadpoles didn’t allow them to develop to the adult stage of life (Campbell). “The use of enucleated metaphase II oocytes as recipient cytoplasts proved more successful and in 1986 resulted in the production of live lambs using blastomeres from 8 to 16-cell stage embryos as nuclear donors,” says Campbell. This success in sheep was also used on other mammals such as cattle and swine. There were limitations to the technology. First, the “frequency development was very low”...

    Read More

  • Extinct Species Essay

    1119 Words  | 3 Pages

    Modern-day genetic technology has granted mankind with the opportunity to bring back extinct species from the dead. If humans have come to possess the DNA from an extinct animal population, it is possible to create an identical clone of the animal in question, effectively “bringing it back from the dead”. Many ethical dilemmas surround the practice of de-extinction, and rightfully so. Recreating an extinct species could produce groundbreaking scientific breakthroughs, generating exciting opportunities for future genetics-based research. However, there could also be monumental consequences: the newly revived, once-extinct species might destroy the ecological equilibrium of modern Earth

    Read More

  • Genetic Cloning

    1547 Words  | 4 Pages

    Reproductive cloning is a type of cloning which is performed for the purpose of creating a duplicate copy of another organism. It creates exact genetic copy, or clone, of an individual. It is accomplished using a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer(SCNT). SCNT when done on a mouse for instance, functions by taking the nucleus out of a somatic cell(any non gamete cell) of one mouse and then that nucleus is put into ...

    Read More

  • Exploring the Evolution and Definitions of Homology

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are various computer programs that can aid in sequencing these segments of DNA and generate phylogenetic trees. The programs are specifically looking for intron indels, retroposon, gene duplications and linked genes (Rokas and Holland 2000). Researchers can use several supermatrix formations that have already been created to pair up species (Gatesy et al. 2012). In our example, DNA was extracted, purified and then sequences. The computer program was looking for the presence or absence of transposon sites when compared to one of the supermatrix formations(Gatesy et al. 2012). Additionally, as the computer program runs the sequences gathered from the whale and hippopotamus the sequences will align allowing for additional differences and similarities in the genetic code to be found. After the genetic code has been sequenced, the computer programs can run programs to make phyogenetic

    Read More

  • Habitat Destruction

    1568 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many of these causes could be prevented fairly easily. If people today would just follow some simple rules, none of these would be as big as they are now.

    Read More

  • Extinction On Dinosaurs

    569 Words  | 2 Pages

    of species due to a variety of causes. Included is out competition, depletion of resources

    Read More

  • Biodiversity Loss and Extinction

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    Biodiversity loss can lead to extinction, and hurt human life. It is our responsibility to take care of the environment. We bring in machines that harm the environment and destroy animal life. We need to limit ourselves on how much land and resources we consume. There are major issues that are causing species to become extinct and hurt our way of life and other animals do to the change in food chain.

    Read More

  • Loss of Biodiversity

    998 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nowadays it is common to read articles in newspapers and magazines regarding biodiversity issues. Human beings have been knowingly and unknowingly destroying biodiversity since their existence. Biodiversity is the measure of the variety of species of animals living in an area. Forests are usually areas with high biodiversity while deserts are the opposite. Human beings have always destroyed biodiversity either by deforestation, or by some other means. Biodiversity depletion is a natural phenomenon. But the present levels of biodiversity depletion are many times higher than the natural rate. Recently the levels of loss in biodiversity have started causing global concern. Some of the main causes for loss in biodiversity are alteration of habitats, increasing levels of pollution and human population growth.

    Read More

More about The Process of De-extinction and Its Ecological and Moral Consequences

Open Document