Key Points
- De-extinction presents many theoretical and practical challenges.
- DNA breaks down over time, making it tough for species that went extinct millions of years ago.
- Revive & Restore focuses on saving endangered and extinct species through genetic rescue.
- One recent success is the Xerces butterfly, revived with help from a close relative.
- Bringing back creatures like dinosaurs is still mostly a fantasy.
Looma News
Since the release of Jurassic Park, many have wondered if de-extinction is possible. While the movie shows dinosaurs coming back from DNA, real-life efforts to revive extinct species face many hurdles. DNA naturally breaks down over time, especially for species that have been gone for millions of years, leaving only bits of genetic material.
To bring a species back, scientists need to insert DNA into the embryo of a close relative. But these relatives often don’t have enough genetic similarities to recreate the extinct species accurately. Even if a close relative is available, the outcome might only look like the original species instead of being an exact match.
Revive & Restore, led by entrepreneur Ryan Phelan, works to overcome these challenges through genetic rescue projects that fund research into advanced technologies for saving wildlife. For example, scientists are collaborating with Revive & Restore to try to bring back woolly mammoths by using modern elephants as genetic templates.
There have been successful cases of de-extinction, like the Xerces butterfly, which went extinct in 1940. Researchers at the California Academy of Sciences, with help from Revive & Restore, achieved this by using a close relative, the Silvery Blue butterfly.
While experimenting with well-preserved specimens is promising, reviving ancient creatures like dinosaurs remains more of a science fiction idea than a reality.
