Transcript De-Extinction - BLI-Research-SynBio-2016-session-2

DE-EXTINCTION
AURANA LO
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/deextinction/
EXTINCTION
 Extinction – there are no more living members of a species
 Has happened several times
 For Example:
 Passenger Pigeon (September 1914)
 Saber-tooth Tiger
 Tasmanian Tiger (September 1936)
 Dodo Bird (1662)
 Baiji White Dolphin (2002)
 West African Black Rhinos (April 2015)
 Woolly Mammoths (1650 BC)
 Etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_pigeon
REASONS FOR EXTINCTION
ANIMAL ENDANGERMENT
Other 2%
 Several reasons for extinction/endangerment
 Some are non-human related while others are human
Hunting 23%
Habitat
Distruction 36%
related
 Some reasons for extinction/endangerment are more
dominate than others
Species
Introducion
39%
REASONS FOR EXTINCTION
Non-Human Related Reasons
 Climate Change (Heating and Cooling)
 Acid Rain
 Changes in Sea Levels/Currents
 Disease
 Asteroids/Cosmic Radiation
REASONS FOR EXTINCTION
Human Related Reasons
 Increased Human Population
 Climate Change/Global Warming
 Destruction of Habitat
 Hunting
 Pollution
 Introducing invasive species
http://all-that-is-interesting.com/de-extinction
DE-EXTINCTION
 De-extinction: resurrection biology, creating an
organism which is a member of an extinct species
 Have the ability to de-extinct some species using
new technology
 There is controversy over whether we should do it
https://blogs.umass.edu/natsci397a-eross/de-extinction-guidelines-for-species-revival-2/
THE BASIC SCIENCE BEHIND IT:
 Use the closest related animal alive to the extinct animal
 Scientists have isolated the genes that are different between the two species (compare)
 Put in the extinct animal genes in the closest related living animal’s reproductive cell
 Likely using CRISPR
 Produce the extinct animal
http://www.ted.com/talks/stewart_brand_the_dawn_of_de_extinction_are_you_ready?language=en#t-708180
http://www.ted.com/talks/stewart_brand_the_dawn_of_de_extinction_are_you_ready?language=en#t-708180
http://www.ted.com/talks/stewart_brand_the_dawn_of_de_extinction_are_you_ready?language=en#t-708180
EXAMPLE: PASSENGER PIGEON
 Example shown earlier
 There used to be 3-5 million
 Humans hunted to extinction
 Closest related living species: band-tailed pigeon
 This would bring back the species that used to cover the
skies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_pigeon
EXAMPLE: WOOLLY MAMMOTH
 Found well preserved Woolly Mammoths in ice
 Closest living relative: Asian Elephant
 Similar process to passenger pigeon
 There are several concerns
http://a-z-animals.com/animals/woolly-mammoth/
CONCERNS
 Very controversial
 Several concerns
 Cartoon to the right explains one of the dilemmas of
de-extinction
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-de-extinction.html
CONCERNS
Ethics/Morals
 Religious aspect
 Playing God?
 At what point should we stop meddling with life?
CONCERNS
Environment
 The de-extinct species will wipeout endangered species
 Destroy the environment around it
 There is there no place for them to survive in
 Different conditions
https://biotechnologysociety.wordpress.com/2015/03/25/welcome-to-jurassic-park-a-look-atde-extinction/
WHY?
 Why do this with so much controversy around
de-extinction?
 Several reasons:
 Ethics/Morals
 Environment
 Other
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/de-extinction-of-woolly-mammoth-possible-in-30-to-50years-1.1386592
WHY?
Ethics/Morals
 Humans have a moral obligation to restore the environment
 Since we have destroyed nature so much
 Caused many species to become extinct
 Some believe we should do everything in our power to fix it
WHY?
Environment
 Some animals can help the current state of the environment
 Some worry that woolly mammoths will destroy the environment
 But they will pack the snow and ice down to keep it from melting
 Also help build back the grass lands to keep the ice insolated
 Transports nutrients across large distances
 Restore the ecosystem
 Put it back how it used to be
WHY?
Other Reasons
 To explore if it is actually possible to bring back an extinct species
 To learn more about animal conservation
 If this works, we can save endangered species as well
 To improve medicine
 Understanding the genomes can help us understand our blood better
 So we can treat more diseases
QUICK OVERVIEW
 Using synthetic biology, we can bring back
extinct species
 CRISPR
 Compare DNA from extinct species into closest
related alive animal
 Put it in a motherly vessel
 Eventually get extinct baby animal
 Examples: Passenger Pigeon, Woolly Mammoth
 Concerns
 Wrong environment
 Can cause endangered animals to become
extinct
 We are playing God
 Why?
 It could save the melting icecaps
 It’s our moral obligation
 To better understand certain kinds of animals for
medical reasons
 To see if we can actually do it
 Thank you
SOURCES
 http://people.uwec.edu/jolhm/eh4/extinction/CausesLink.html
 http://www.esa.org/esablog/guest-posts/de-extinction-a-risky-ecological-experiment/
 http://reviverestore.org/candidates/
 http://www.nationalgeographic.com/deextinction/#close
 https://www.ted.com/talks/stewart_brand_the_dawn_of_de_extinction_are_you_ready?language=en#t-375886
 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/these-are-extinct-animals-we-can-should-resurrect180954955/?no-ist
 https://www.inverse.com/article/11803-the-de-extinction-of-woolly-mammoths-would-be-a-big-steppe-towardsaving-humans
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/de-extinction/
SOURCES
 http://reviverestore.org/category/de-extinction/
 http://people.uwec.edu/jolhm/eh4/extinction/CausesLink.html
 http://www.onekind.org/education/top_10_lists/extinct/
 http://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/news-posts/the-science-behind-de-extinction/
 http://all-that-is-interesting.com/de-extinction
 http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-de-extinction.html
 https://blogs.umass.edu/natsci397a-eross/de-extinction-guidelines-for-species-revival-2/
 http://a-z-animals.com/animals/woolly-mammoth/
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_pigeon