I say this every time de-extinction comes up: it makes no sense to devote science to bringing back extinct animals when we can’t be bothered to keep extant ones alive in the first place.
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
I do get that and you’re right, but I also vainly hope someday we can give the auk and the passenger pigeon a second chance because humans screwed them over. It’s not the pigeon’s fault that it was delicious.
Bringing back dire wolves shouldn't be billed as a cure-all to species extinction.
That said, I think it's important to do science that doesn't have an immediately visible net benefit.
The first zoo to create a large tundra biome for their mammoth (hopefully mammoth herd, unless you want a very unhappy mammoth) is going to spend SO MUCH energy on maintaining that biome for show. Bleh
And people don't seem to remember that we have destroyed the biomes (all the way down to the microorganisms) that most of these animals would live in. We need to solve the environmental issues to even give them a place to live! But nooooo, let's just create a creature we can't keep alive 😒
The gut biome is trillions strong, constantly changing, evolving; it's impossible to know all species & interactions, let alone keep up with them. We have hubris, wrong priorities & values. Human fools play gods, dishonoring natures supremacy. Save the environment for the ultimate artist: Nature.
Maybe it is the same "logic" as wrecking the environment to support "AI" that will become smart enough to solve climate change for us.
Sure, species are going extinct due to our abuses and neglect...but now we can bring 'em back so it is all ok!
We need AI to solve climate change like we need Deep Blue to tell us the time of day. All the computational power in the world won't give us the willpower to change.
But we can't. Not really. Most of the DNA was gray wolf, only .1% was Dire. We really don't know DNA as well as they lead you to believe. We are learning more every day, but there is so much more to learn. Now that Trump has destroyed science through Musk, we will never learn the rest.
That's part of my point. Unextinction is just as much of a thin excuse as AI to fix our climate. It is to justify doing what we want to do rather than what we should do. If we don't work on the issues we have in the present, there certainly won't be a sci-fi future that will magically do it for us.
Not to mention the potential environmental damage of some fool unintentionally releasing one of their bioengineered creations into the wild. And mark my words, some fool will.
I hadn’t heard about people doing that! Why tf would you release a glofish into the wild??? How do you think that’s gonna go for it. Ya think being brightly colored and UV activated is going to maybe make life tough for them in a predator-filled world?
Priorities. Flashy Dire Wolves or Vaccines? There is no easy true fix for extinctions, not even ours if we don't change course. We will never match Natures creations-it's vanity, frivolous, perhaps dangerous self indulgence & diversion from our responsibilities, accepting our place in humility & awe
Hello, how are you my dear friend? I hope you are always well and I wish you all the best. My dear friend, my family and I are living in a genocide. Please help me go to a safe place.💔🙏 https://gofund.me/6d7836e0
Comments
That said, I think it's important to do science that doesn't have an immediately visible net benefit.
The same techniques, however, could be used to add genetic diversity to an endangered species. I think that's pretty exciting.
Although the first zoo to get a mammoth will get my money.
Based on what they've demonstrated, those should be quite doable!
And... we have polar bears in tropic zoos. It's feasible.
Sure, species are going extinct due to our abuses and neglect...but now we can bring 'em back so it is all ok!
"I don't know, make more?"
"Ok, time to make the mammoths."
The proboscideans at home:
I grew up fascinated by technology, and now I see so much of it as stuff that should be set on fire.
https://gofund.me/6d7836e0