The Pyrenean Ibex was a goat that became extinct some time in the year 2000. The last of its kind was a female and apparently a tree fell on her to cause her demise. Panic stricken scientist extracted some of her DNA and kept it on ice until 2009 when a brand new Ibex came to life after some experimentation. This was marvelous news, but the new ibex lived for less than ten minutes. The point is that the concept works and other species may be brought back, such as the wooly mammoth. Will miracles never cease?
http://mentalfloss.com/uk/animals/33759 ... m-the-dead
Back From Extinction
Re: Back From Extinction
why did my ex come to mind...?So if you see something large, hairy, and coughing, don’t be too alarmed.
I love articles written in a light tone and not usual pompous tone with a side of superiority complex.
Re: Back From Extinction
The humor is the interesting part of the article. I liked it for that reason.
Re: Back From Extinction
Awww, I wonder why the ibex only lived for less than 10 minutes? I know that scientists have a list of 20+ animals that they'd like to try and "bring back to life" using their DNA. Some, such as the woolly mammoth'd be too old to use. The DNA'd degenerate over a long period of time, but eventually .....
Re: Back From Extinction
I think they explained the short life of the Ibex in the article. It had a lung defect which is common for this kind of gene manipulation.
Re: Back From Extinction
Oh - thanks Yogi. I didn't read far enough down the article, but I can see that now.
Re: Back From Extinction
...and here I thought it was a case of absence of 'nurture' from its own kind... silly me...
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Re: Back From Extinction
I suppose that several factors could've been to blame for the original reduction in numbers, and sadly, extinction then came about.
As we can see, "raising life" from old DNA's still fraught with problems, and probably was never meant to be, but I'm sure that it WILL happen. I don't know whether I agree with the process or not. What good would it do to bring back woolly mammoths, for instance? They'd no longer have the sort of environment that their ancestors thrived in, and although they might be born and know no different, their life span could be short.
As we can see, "raising life" from old DNA's still fraught with problems, and probably was never meant to be, but I'm sure that it WILL happen. I don't know whether I agree with the process or not. What good would it do to bring back woolly mammoths, for instance? They'd no longer have the sort of environment that their ancestors thrived in, and although they might be born and know no different, their life span could be short.