De-extinction
De-extinction is a form of resurrection biology that aims at bringing back extinct close to extinct animals. Thirty to one hundred and fifty-nine animal species become extinct daily due to human activity. Living things in an ecosystem depend on each other for food, shelter, decomposition, and many other aspects. Continued extinction of animals, the world will be at a risk of an unbalanced ecosystem. De-extinction would restore a fantastic beauty and balance to the ecosystem that no human has ever imagined.
Beth Shapiro, a professor at The University of California, says that in the effort to bring back extinct animals, we will learn tremendous knowledge about how they became extinct. This would help stop the extinction of animals that are at risk extinction (Shapiro 15). Genomicists, recover remains of extinct animals daily during their research. Efficient biotechnology can help in the progress of de-extinction in order to save other animals.
Extinct animals, like the Lazarus frog, have fascinating stories about them. Lazarus frog, unlike other frogs, used to lay eggs, then swallowed them and converted its stomach into a uterus. It also gave birth through the form of a cough (Robert et al. 27). Michael Archer, a professor at The University of South Wales, says that when scientists discovered this, they were amazed. De-extinction would bring back animals with beautiful stories about them across the world. These animals would be a huge source of tourist attraction, which would raise many struggling economies due to a boom in the tourism sector.
De-extinction can save many other animal species from extinction, and scientists should use all means to bring back extinct animals using cloning, genome editing, and selective breeding. Humans are the leading cause of extinction, and it is our moral obligation to bring back animals.
Works Cited
Robert, Alexandre, et al. “De‐extinction and evolution.” Functional Ecology 31.5 (2017): 1021-1031.
Shapiro, Beth. “Pathways to de‐extinction: how close can we get to resurrection of an extinct species?.” Functional Ecology 31.5 (2017): 996-1002.