Years ago, species such as the Pyrenean Ibex, Passenger Pigeon, and the Wooly Mammoth used to roam the very same earth that we humans walk today. These species, along with many others have gone extinct over the course of time and now only fossils remain. However, Scientists are using biotechnology in an attempt to bring these species back from the dead. This process is known as de-extinction. De-Extinction, also known as resurrection biology, is the scientific process of resurrecting species that have died out, or gone extinct (Britannica). Scientists are using three different techniques in their attempt to resurrect these species; these techniques consist of breeding back, genetic engineering, and cloning. Breeding back is described as
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They are attempting to breed current cattle that produce some of the Aurochs genes and produce a separate breed of cattle, called Heck Cattle, which only possess the original Aurochs genes (Dire Wolf Project).
Another process scientists are attempting to accomplish de-extinction is genetic engineering. Genetic engineering is the deliberate, controlled manipulation of the genes in an organism with the intent of making that organism better in some way. Scientists are currently attempting to bring back the passenger pigeon using this method. The bird became extinct in 1914 due to destruction of its natural habitat and overhunting of the species. A non-profit organization called the Revive and Restore project is currently attempting to revive the passenger pigeon using genetic engineering and says "This is the first project to revive an extinct animal using its museum-specimen DNA”. However, in order for genetic engineering to work, a high quality genetic sample is needed, proving as a drawback to the process (Tech …show more content…
Cloning describes the processes used to create an exact genetic replica of another cell, tissue or organism (nih). On July 30, 2003 a team of Spanish and French scientists were the first people to come close to accomplishing de-extinction. They had managed to use a form of cloning to bring back the extinct Pyrenean Ibex only for it to die minutes later. The cells of the last Pyrenean Ibex that ever lived were preserved in labs located in Zaragoza and Madrid. Scientists then injected nuclei from the preserved cells into goat eggs that were emptied of their own DNA, and then implanted them into surrogate mothers. It took fifty-seven implications and only seven goats had gotten pregnant. Out of those seven pregnancies, six resulted in a miscarriage. However, one goat managed to carry a clone of the extinct ibex to full term. When the baby was born, it struggled to breathe and within ten minutes had passed away. The scientists discovered that one of the clone’s lungs had grown a gigantic extra lobe therefore, its death was unavoidable (National
They are attempting to breed current cattle that produce some of the Aurochs genes and produce a separate breed of cattle, called Heck Cattle, which only possess the original Aurochs genes (Dire Wolf Project).
Another process scientists are attempting to accomplish de-extinction is genetic engineering. Genetic engineering is the deliberate, controlled manipulation of the genes in an organism with the intent of making that organism better in some way. Scientists are currently attempting to bring back the passenger pigeon using this method. The bird became extinct in 1914 due to destruction of its natural habitat and overhunting of the species. A non-profit organization called the Revive and Restore project is currently attempting to revive the passenger pigeon using genetic engineering and says "This is the first project to revive an extinct animal using its museum-specimen DNA”. However, in order for genetic engineering to work, a high quality genetic sample is needed, proving as a drawback to the process (Tech …show more content…
Cloning describes the processes used to create an exact genetic replica of another cell, tissue or organism (nih). On July 30, 2003 a team of Spanish and French scientists were the first people to come close to accomplishing de-extinction. They had managed to use a form of cloning to bring back the extinct Pyrenean Ibex only for it to die minutes later. The cells of the last Pyrenean Ibex that ever lived were preserved in labs located in Zaragoza and Madrid. Scientists then injected nuclei from the preserved cells into goat eggs that were emptied of their own DNA, and then implanted them into surrogate mothers. It took fifty-seven implications and only seven goats had gotten pregnant. Out of those seven pregnancies, six resulted in a miscarriage. However, one goat managed to carry a clone of the extinct ibex to full term. When the baby was born, it struggled to breathe and within ten minutes had passed away. The scientists discovered that one of the clone’s lungs had grown a gigantic extra lobe therefore, its death was unavoidable (National