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Can we someday de-extinct species like the Tasmanian tiger (Thylacine)?


Thylacine (Wikipedia/ Thylacine)

The fact is that today de-extinction is impossible. There is the possibility that researchers could isolate the DNA from the corpses of mammoths or some recently extinct species like the Chrismas Island rat. But the fact is that the DNA that is in the skulls of those animals is hard to separate. The DNA would be damaged or there are connected viruses. So the result of cloning could look like a Chrismas Island rat. But it would not be a "real rat". 

There are many suggestions that extinct species will return to life by simply cloning those animals. The fact is that the result would not be perfect copies of the extinct animals anyway. The DNA of those animals could be polluted. And that means that even if the result will seem like Tasmanian tiger or Christmas Island rats (McLear's rat) they might not be those animals anyway. 

If we want to return extinct species to life we must realize that thing is easier to plan than make in real life. The problem is that the animals that are stored in museums are independent cases. And that causes that even if we can clone some animals population would be extremely small. And that thing causes degeneration. 

Another thing is that we don't know about the behavior of those animals. We would make individual animals but what happens if it's the only member of that species? Would that animal feel good? And could that kind of animal be safe? 

Technology is advancing. And that thing makes it possible to create synthetic DNA molecules. But the fact that there are billions of DNA sequences that must be made. When we are thinking possibility to return things like dinosaur's life, we must remember that if we connect some DNA of frogs or birds with the DNA of some dinosaurs the result would be a different species than the original dinosaur was. 

The thing is that finding the missing DNA sequences is difficult because there is no confirmed DNA of those animals. Where isolated DNA, can be compared. Nanotechnology and other things can make it possible to create synthetic DNA quite soon. New methods like the ability to erase single atoms from molecular structures are making it possible to create synthetic organisms. 

And that thing makes it possible to create synthetic organisms. Maybe those organisms are at the level of cells or bacteria. But the fact is that those things are the first steps on the road of nanotechnology and genetic engineering. 


https://phys.org/news/2022-06-synthetic-cells.html


https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-de-extinction-is-impossible-but-could-work-anyway-20220509/


https://scitechdaily.com/forget-mammoths-these-scientists-are-working-to-resurrect-the-extinct-christmas-island-rat-through-dna-editing/


https://scitechdaily.com/speeding-up-molecule-design-with-a-new-technique-that-can-delete-single-atoms/


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De-extinction


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maclear%27s_rat


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thylacine



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