Resuscitation of extinct species
Ashley Crane
Central Maine Community College
Jurassic Park was a very popular film that entertained the notion that scientist could bring back an extinct species with DNA from mosquitos that were carefully preserved in amber. Now, a group of scientists are trying to bring back the great passenger pigeon, Ectopistes migratorious. According to the Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds, there were 3,000 million passenger pigeons in the late 18th Century, making it one of the most abundant species in the world (p. 253). These birds relied heavily on large numbers to find food and because of this, it made them an easy target to hunters. The Great Comeback is one of the first de-extinction projects in history to bring back an extinct bird. With the help of newly developed biotechnology and with breakthroughs in DNA research, the idea what was once fantasy is coming close to becoming more of a reality.
Cloning has been around since the early 1950s. Most cloning has been performed on many popular animals like mice, dogs and sheep. The first clone of an endangered species was on a gaur. By using the skin cell of a gaur and an egg from a cow, a baby gaur was created and died just two days later. According to Advanced Cell Tech. the gaur’s death “appeared to be totally unrelated to cloning procedures.” (Vogel, 2001) However, now The Great Comeback wants to bring back a species that has not existed since 1914. To understand how this might be possible, one must know more about DNA and genome sequencing. Deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA and ribonucleic acid, RNA are known to be responsible for the transmission of hereditary information as well as the production of protein by cells. DNA makes up genes and posses instructions for making proteins and RNA. In eukaryotic cells, a chromosome consists of a continuous molecule of DNA and several types of associated proteins. Genes are DNA sequences that code for the synthesis of a polypeptide. Today, it is known that within the double helix lies
Central Maine Community College
Jurassic Park was a very popular film that entertained the notion that scientist could bring back an extinct species with DNA from mosquitos that were carefully preserved in amber. Now, a group of scientists are trying to bring back the great passenger pigeon, Ectopistes migratorious. According to the Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds, there were 3,000 million passenger pigeons in the late 18th Century, making it one of the most abundant species in the world (p. 253). These birds relied heavily on large numbers to find food and because of this, it made them an easy target to hunters. The Great Comeback is one of the first de-extinction projects in history to bring back an extinct bird. With the help of newly developed biotechnology and with breakthroughs in DNA research, the idea what was once fantasy is coming close to becoming more of a reality.
Cloning has been around since the early 1950s. Most cloning has been performed on many popular animals like mice, dogs and sheep. The first clone of an endangered species was on a gaur. By using the skin cell of a gaur and an egg from a cow, a baby gaur was created and died just two days later. According to Advanced Cell Tech. the gaur’s death “appeared to be totally unrelated to cloning procedures.” (Vogel, 2001) However, now The Great Comeback wants to bring back a species that has not existed since 1914. To understand how this might be possible, one must know more about DNA and genome sequencing. Deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA and ribonucleic acid, RNA are known to be responsible for the transmission of hereditary information as well as the production of protein by cells. DNA makes up genes and posses instructions for making proteins and RNA. In eukaryotic cells, a chromosome consists of a continuous molecule of DNA and several types of associated proteins. Genes are DNA sequences that code for the synthesis of a polypeptide. Today, it is known that within the double helix lies