Scientists are Trying to Bring Back Extinct Species From the Past
5/15/23
By: Alaina Felton and Savanna Posey
Just 2 years ago when a species was gone it was extinct forever untilā¦ last year when multiple scientists found out that they could get the extinct animals DNA and put it in an embryo from another animal. Now this process took a lot of work with a lot of testing.
Embryos are very tiny and it takes a good microscope to be able see it.Ā
Scientists insert edited DNA from an extinct species into the nucleus of a reproducing cell. They use this technique to resurrect more species, including those whose remains are not well-preserved.
Cloning is the most widely proposed method to bring back animals, although genome editing and selective breeding have also been considered. Scientists take theĀ DNA out of the embryo then put the animal that they are trying to clone DNA into, then they place the embryo inside of the animal able to carry it. Since the animal they are trying to clone will be extinct at the time they have to put the embryo into a similar animal and hope for the best.Ā
Scientists have not yet figured out how to clone birds. With mammals, the process is like that used in the creation of Dolly the sheep, the world's first animal to be cloned successfully from adult cells. Birds can not be cloned yet because of their egg shell. Cloning requires access to an egg cell that is ready for fertilization but not yet fertilized. Birds have no such incubation chamber. After the yolk forms, it's dropped into something called the oviduct, where it tumbles down an assembly line that coats it with first the egg white, and then the shell membrane. There is no uterus equivalent in which to stick a bird clone embryo.
Cloning is a commonly suggested method for the potential restoration of an extinct species. It can be done by extracting the nucleus from a preserved cell from the extinct species and swapping it into an egg, without a nucleus, of that species' nearest living relative.
The advantages of cloning are that it helps preserve and propagate a species that has a difficult time reproducing in captivity, for example the Giant panda. Cloning provides scientists with the ability to reintroduce genes into a wild population after they have been lost.
If the extinct animals DNA is not frozen then you wont be able to use it.Ā
Some animals that scientists are trying to bring back include the Dodo bird, Wooly mammoth, and the megalodon. The Pyrenean ibex is possibly the only extinct animal that has successfully been brought back to life ā though it only lasted for a few minutes.
There are many clinics all over the world and if they didn't start collecting the DNA none of this would be possible. There is one in San Diego and it is very helpful to the world with all of the animals that are endangered or even completely extinct. The Frozen Zoo in San Diego is at the beginning of the emerging field of de-extinction resurrecting DNA to restore animal species that are in danger of disappearing forever, through such methods as genetic editing and cloning.Ā
Contributor Bios
Alaina Felton is a 6th grade girl who enjoys softball, cheerleading, swimming, traveling, baking and hanging out with family and friends.Ā
Savanna Posey is a 6th grade girl who likes to hangout with friends and family and enjoys doing sports like volleyball, softball, and track.