Scientists succeeded for the first time in achieving the holy grail of conservation: bringing to life an extinct animal through cloning. For seven minutes.
Just seven minutes after Spanish and French scientists brought the Pyrenean ibex back from extinction, the young animal died of lung complications also common to other cloned animals. And so an extinct species blinked into life for an instant and then flickered out again.
The success, albeit brief, is spurring scientists and conservationists alike to imagine some wild possibilities. Can extinct species–say, the dodo or even the wooly mammoth–be brought back into their natural habitats through cloning and if so should they?
The Pyrenean ibex, a species of Spanish mountain goat, was declared protected in 1973, but when the conservation plan to save the species was finally implemented in 1993 there were only 10 individuals left. The species went extinct in 2000 when the last known animal, a female named Celia, was found dead–killed by a falling tree. Critics might argue that we have no business bringing back the species from extinction, especially if the very last member of their species was hapless enough to be standing under a tree when it fell.
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But scientists still face considerable hurdles before bringing an extinct species back into the wild is anything more than a conservation pipe dream. Firstly, even if the cloned female ibex had lived, she would have had no males to breed with. On top of this, there are other questions about resurrecting extinct species: can enough genetic diversity be created in cloned individuals? How feasible is it to reintroduce locally extinct, captively bred animals back into an ecosystem? If the species is reintroduced, what would stop it from falling prey to the same dangers that made it extinct?
The brief birth of the ibex brought scientists a significant step closer to the seemingly impossible feat of bringing back a vanished species. It’s conceivable that someday this technology might hold the key to resurrecting a plethora of extinct and endangered species. Already, the The Zoological Society of London and the Natural History Museum are cateloging DNA samples of endangered species in what they are calling a ‘Frozen Ark.’ But until the species resurrection technology becomes a reality, conserving extant species is still so far our best hope. We may someday be able to bring a lost species back to life forever, but for now all we have is seven minutes.
[via: Telegraph]
Image credit: Tambako the Jaguar via Flickr, under a Creative Commons license.
They did this back in the 90′s on some island I heard about. They cloned a ton of dinosaurs using frog dna. Then a greedy dude screwed over the island and the Dinosaurs started killing everyone. Not a good idea.
Awesome
Uh, this poses to many questions… and answers none. This also merges the paths of the evolutionists to closely with the Godists. Kind of like the missing link. Let’s just skip over this. Seems like Darwin (missing along with the link).. Or God (whatever your pleasure)may have put a timer on each species. Wonder what man’s is…Hmmmm
This sounds like a great idea to me!
Damn, now I want to watch Jurassic Park.
From a meta physics point of view, this could be scary. Lung problems in clones ehhh……forcing life to breath based on a copy paste system.
I wonder what cloning does to our conciousness?
They could make them small and cuddly and sell them as pets.
I can tell you how this will play out. Scientists will spend millions perfecting the technique and bring back the woolly mammoth, which will then be sold to a trophy hunter and shot. That’s how we treat the current nonextinct animals, why would anyone think humans would change their ways for the formerly extinct?
Dont these ppl know that the Island wont allow them to do it!!
What cloning does to our consciousness: Nothing. A clone is a genetic copy. It’s very unlikely that the memories or sense of ‘self’ of the original cloned animal is transferred to the clone. However, since we haven’t cloned any humans (not saying we should or shouldn’t), we can’t really ask the clones to find out, eh?
I can’t understand why anyone would want to ‘skip over this’. My guess is that the ibex reached the point of ‘protected status’ and then extinction because of man’s activity. If that is so, it’s hard for me to comprehend the argument that a species doesn’t have a right to live if it goes extinct — even though it was our own negligence as caretakers of this world that wound up putting it there in the first place.
I say clone as many as you can and try re-introduction. If the ecology can continue to support the critter, it might just give us a ‘second chance’ to set things right.
I also find the idea of God setting a ‘timer’ on a species’ existence ridiculous. If he really felt that was the way to go – why would he give us the ability to reverse his mandate?
I think it’ll probably be a long time before we’ll be able to master the low-level machinery nature uses to build an organism from the ground up.
No doubt it’s cool, though. “Send in the clones!”
“why would he give us the ability to reverse his mandate” — Could be a bug in the code, wonder what the tech support has to say about this
“brought back into their natural habitats through cloning”
This statement seems to be missing the point. Their natural habitat is also gone.
Do they have a Site B? And if so what’s cooking up on that? We all know what happened on Isla Nublar and we definitely don’t want a repeat. And why and Ibex. Just seems so random!
Did anyone hear about the 7 white deer spotted grazing in some guys backyard this week? I don’t think it’s a good idea to go screwing around with nature. It’s screwed up enough already!
There is a lot to think through on this; the jury is still out for me.
But I can’t help to feel a little sad at thinking about the poor animal that was born and lived for 7 minutes. Damn, the most terrifying moment in a living being’s life, being born, and just as quickly dying, in confusion, in possible pain.
These scientists, did they try to save the animal, or at least ease it quick existence? It’s just an animal, I know, but…jeez, I don’t know, just touched me I guess.
Now this seems pretty interesting. For once I think humans have been doing wrong for such a long time that now we are given the chance to go back and fix some of our mistakes. I sincerely find the fact amazing. We have reduced and eliminated so many species that it seems just fair for us to work hard and try to bring them back. Sure some old-extinct species like the wooly mammoth could cause a great impact to biological and environmental stability since all other species have already grown and evolved in order to survive with out it. But the most recent species could be feasible without creating such an enormous impact. Also endangered species could be saved before extinction by creating mates for the ones already found in wildlife.
Its just the ethics and maybe a couple decades of further investigation and experimentation that separate us from playing God. Lets just hope it is all done with good intentions.
stupid mountain goat.
Cool story Bro
I’ll try anything once, if I like it maybe I’ll keep doing it again and again. Who’s to say what or who GOD is (How could any human even comprehend the thought if what GOD is) and if time limits where or are set in stone then maybe “Nessie” or her counter parts through out the world should start to worry.
Experiment away, maybe something good can come as a unintended side effect like perhaps a new liver or heart manufacturing methode.
GOD SPEED!!!
We brought a being to life so it could suffocate to death? I don’t think so. Save the critters that are here. And I agree with the post about trophy hunters.
Until that abomination is put to an end, we have no right to amuse ourselves bringing back anything. And they’ll need wilderness to live in. That’s another problem.
I think I am going to agree with Travis. Who is to say that God didn’t intend for us to discover this technology? I think that it would be foolish to believe that we just randomly come across anything in this world. We find out how to do things for a reason and if we can repair some of the damage and anything else that we have done to the Earth. Then I say why not?
so what happens? say your wife,the love of your life,your soul mate, passes away right after you get married at say 20 years old and a few years go by, you win the lotto and clone her, she comes back and is raised by her original parents and at 19 years old you finally get to meet her.Your 43 now and she is 19, not really a terrible age difference ,she is supposed to be exactly the same , so do you both fall madly in love again? Or what?
I also agree with Travis. These species have become extint because of us and not by natural means, therefore i think we should try to fix what we have done, or better than that, dont make them go extinct in the first place! Conservation before restoration!
I love it bring on the dino’s, the solution to overpopulation, and unemployment.
I feel that the scientists are completely justified for attempting to clone the ibex. Afterall, the species of goat died off not because of some “act of God” milleniums ago, but because of man-related reasons only a few years ago. The fact that the first clone died only minutes after birth should not be laughed at. Dolly the sheep was probobly not the first sheep to be cloned– she was the result of dozens of failed attempts. The team who cloned the ibex should continue to raise the species back from the dead. It’ll greatly benefit science and zoology.
RAMMMMMYYY!
RAMMMYYYYYYY!!!!
We should leave cloning aloan because who knows what will hapen to the ecosystem if these animals are relesed into the wild. Also we arnt god therfore we should not have the power to create life, people were not put on the earth to play god.
ok Check Isanto its called jerassic park maby u sould have wached the movie there was 3 of them
ok Check Isanto its called jerassic park maby u sould have wached the movies there were 3 of them
wow that is interesting and that is good info for my science pro-ject haha well yea thx for readin my comment if ya did PEACE!