The Science Of De-Extinction: Why Bringing Back Extinct Animals Is Not As Crazy As It Sounds

Scientists’ hopes of recreating more renowned ancient species such as the woolly mammoth may have been dashed by an extinct rodent that once resided on an isle in the Indian Ocean. The Christmas Island rat vanished barely over a century ago, but experts now believe that even its whole DNA is insufficient to reverse the process.

The finding illustrates both how marvelously near—and also how staggeringly away scientists are from resurrecting extinct animals by genetic transformation of a close descendant, a process known as “de-extinction.”

To reintroduce an extinct animal, experts would need to first decode its genome and then alter the DNA of a closely related current species to fit it. The next step is to create embryos with the modified DNA and to carry them to maturity in a healthy surrogate mother.

Scientists collected DNA from the coats of two intact Christmas Island rats & analyzed it many times to obtain as much information as possible about the genome. The scientists used the Norway rat’s genome as a baseline to put together as much of the disappeared rat’s DNA as necessary. Analyzing the genomes indicated that nearly 5 percent of the Christmas Island rat’s genome remained obscure.

Numerous absent genes will be those that contribute to the species’ uniqueness. 5 percent is a significant difference—the human genome is only 1% different than that of chimps and bonobos.

Such efforts may result in the development of “proxies,” animals that are similar sufficiently to the extinct species to undertake the same role in the extinct species’ former environment, including a cold-tolerant “woolly elephant.” The primary objective is not to create perfect duplicates, but to create varied and specific hybrids.

In the majority of cases, researchers will have no idea how retouched genes will affect an animal’s behavior patterns or ability to live. According to experts, de-extinction efforts may divert valuable funds away from preservation.