{"id":1241,"date":"2015-09-24T14:20:42","date_gmt":"2015-09-24T18:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/general-education\/?p=425"},"modified":"2024-01-30T15:50:33","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T20:50:33","slug":"ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethical Discussions: De-Extinction"},"content":{"rendered":"

This summer\u2019s release of the movie Jurassic World brought to mind not only the original 1993 hit Jurassic Park, but the subject of de-extinction, the process of \u201cbringing back\u201d species which have become extinct. There has been much debate recently regarding the ability to succeed in resurrecting extinct animal species as well as the ethical implications of doing so. In particular, there is great interest among scientists and the media regarding the possibility of resurrecting the Woolly Mammoth<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Before examining the ethical implications, it makes sense to ask the question: Do we have the ability to resurrect extinct species? The answer is perhaps, but not exactly. In the 1990\u2019s, scientists developed somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). SCNT was used to produce the first mammal cloned from an adult cell nuclei, a sheep named Dolly, in 1996.<\/p>\n

Most recently, there has been much talk about resurrecting the extinct wooly mammoth. Can cloning be used to resurrect the mammoth? Not exactly. To \u201cclone\u201d a mammoth,<\/a> scientists would have to be able to create an animal with the complete mammoth genome, mammoth cells and mammoth chromosomes. This is not possible, since only fragments of DNA from mammoths have been recovered. However, scientists will be able to create an animal genetically close to a mammoth by using an elephant as a \u201csurrogate\u201d. This would be accomplished by inserting genes from a mammoth into the elephant genome. This would create an elephant which would have traits from the mammoth, such as cold resistant blood and thick hair. These traits would enable the animal to live in the Arctic as the mammoths once did.<\/p>\n

Although the de-extinction of the wooly mammoth is receiving much attention in the press, the de-extinction of another animal is perhaps more likely to come first. Scientists have already successfully mapped the genome of the passenger pigeon, which was a keystone species in North America. The passenger pigeon was made extinct due in large part to hunting and the effects of deforestation. The species became extinct in 1914 when the last passenger pigeon, a female named Martha, died at the Cincinnati zoo. At the peak of its population numbers there were four to five billion passenger pigeons in the eastern part of North America and the Midwest. A single migrating flock could cover the sky to the point that it would darken the sky itself for over 180 square miles. These large flocks of travelling pigeons could actually take days to pass over an area. According to one estimate, the pigeons made up 40% of the bird population in North America. Their effect on the environment was substantial, and the effect of their loss was significant as well.<\/p>\n

It appears that we are getting very close to being able to be successful at de-extinction of some now extinct species. This brings to mind another question \u2013 should we do so?<\/p>\n

Proponents of de-extinction have several arguments in favor of bringing back extinct species aside from the sheer wonder (and that is no small factor) of being able to bring back animals such as the woolly mammoth:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. They argue that humans have been responsible for the extinction of many species in last 10,000 years and that therefore we have a moral obligation to fix some of the damage that we have created.<\/li>\n
  2. Proponents also state that resurrecting extinct species will restore biodiversity.<\/li>\n
  3. De-extinction will restore and preserve ecosystems which have been harmed by the loss of species. Some extinct species, such as the passenger pigeons, were important keystone species in their areas of the world. Restoring these species would help restore some of the ecological diversity which has been lost.<\/li>\n
  4. Finally, proponents of de-extinction see it as a chance for the young people of this generation and those to come to see amazing animals which were once extinct. They envision this as an opportunity to create new interest in the environment<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    There are scientists and conservationists who argue against the idea of de-extinction.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. The first of these arguments is that there will be no place for these animals to live outside zoos. The disappearance of these species caused significant changes in the environment. Their habitat no longer exists in the way that it did before these species became extinct.<\/li>\n
    2. Some conservationists argue that if people know that we can bring back extinct species, protecting the existing environment now may not seem so crucial.<\/li>\n
    3. A concern is that it would be very difficult to have genetic diversity in the population of a species we brought back from extinction. It is one thing to create a few new member of a species. It is a much more complicated and difficult endeavor to create enough animals with diverse genes in sufficient numbers to ensure genetic diversity for that population.<\/li>\n
    4. With many species on the verge of extinction, there is an argument that the amount of money which would be spent on de-extinction would be better spent on preventing the loss of species which now exist.<\/li>\n
    5. Finally, de-extinction would actually be creating a genetically modified species. There could be unintended consequences to the environment should these species be introduced. They could interfere with and compete with existing species in the same way that an invasive species causes problems to the environment.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      If we do in fact have the capability to be successful at de-extinction of some now extinct species, should we do so?<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Is it ethical to use technology to resurrect a now extinct species?<\/strong><\/p>\n

      #spcethics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      This summer\u2019s release of the movie Jurassic World brought to mind not only the original 1993 hit Jurassic Park, but the subject of de-extinction, the process of \u201cbringing back\u201d species which have become extinct. There has been much debate recently regarding the ability to succeed in resurrecting extinct animal species as well as the ethical … Continue reading Ethical Discussions: De-Extinction<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":348,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"coauthors":[161],"class_list":["post-1241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ethics"],"yoast_head":"\r\nEthical Discussions: De-Extinction - Public Safety, Public Policy, and Legal Studies<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ethical Discussions: De-Extinction - Public Safety, Public Policy, and Legal Studies\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This summer\u2019s release of the movie Jurassic World brought to mind not only the original 1993 hit Jurassic Park, but the subject of de-extinction, the process of \u201cbringing back\u201d species which have become extinct. There has been much debate recently regarding the ability to succeed in resurrecting extinct animal species as well as the ethical … Continue reading Ethical Discussions: De-Extinction →\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Public Safety, Public Policy, and Legal Studies\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-09-24T18:20:42+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-30T20:50:33+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joann Vaughan\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joann Vaughan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Joann Vaughan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/98b61a7f5d480da62d426256c23746fe\"},\"headline\":\"Ethical Discussions: De-Extinction\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-09-24T18:20:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-30T20:50:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":906,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"articleSection\":[\"Ethics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ethical Discussions: De-Extinction - Public Safety, Public Policy, and Legal Studies\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-09-24T18:20:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-30T20:50:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/98b61a7f5d480da62d426256c23746fe\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ethical Discussions: De-Extinction\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/\",\"name\":\"Public Safety, Public Policy, and Legal Studies\",\"description\":\"Read about programs that prepare students for careers as public policy leaders.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/98b61a7f5d480da62d426256c23746fe\",\"name\":\"Joann Vaughan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9f8d00b71d868f4b09f34e580063db237e228a72ac6e603e3f762d11cfda0519?s=96&d=mm&r=g5880d8f1290cf483c90d020275b797d5\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9f8d00b71d868f4b09f34e580063db237e228a72ac6e603e3f762d11cfda0519?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9f8d00b71d868f4b09f34e580063db237e228a72ac6e603e3f762d11cfda0519?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Joann Vaughan\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\\\/author\\\/joann-vaughan\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ethical Discussions: De-Extinction - Public Safety, Public Policy, and Legal Studies","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ethical Discussions: De-Extinction - Public Safety, Public Policy, and Legal Studies","og_description":"This summer\u2019s release of the movie Jurassic World brought to mind not only the original 1993 hit Jurassic Park, but the subject of de-extinction, the process of \u201cbringing back\u201d species which have become extinct. There has been much debate recently regarding the ability to succeed in resurrecting extinct animal species as well as the ethical … Continue reading Ethical Discussions: De-Extinction →","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\/","og_site_name":"Public Safety, Public Policy, and Legal Studies","article_published_time":"2015-09-24T18:20:42+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-01-30T20:50:33+00:00","author":"Joann Vaughan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Joann Vaughan","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\/"},"author":{"name":"Joann Vaughan","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/#\/schema\/person\/98b61a7f5d480da62d426256c23746fe"},"headline":"Ethical Discussions: De-Extinction","datePublished":"2015-09-24T18:20:42+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-30T20:50:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\/"},"wordCount":906,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","articleSection":["Ethics"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\/","name":"Ethical Discussions: De-Extinction - Public Safety, Public Policy, and Legal Studies","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2015-09-24T18:20:42+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-30T20:50:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/#\/schema\/person\/98b61a7f5d480da62d426256c23746fe"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/ethical-discussions-de-extinction-spcethics\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ethical Discussions: De-Extinction"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/","name":"Public Safety, Public Policy, and Legal Studies","description":"Read about programs that prepare students for careers as public policy leaders.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/#\/schema\/person\/98b61a7f5d480da62d426256c23746fe","name":"Joann Vaughan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9f8d00b71d868f4b09f34e580063db237e228a72ac6e603e3f762d11cfda0519?s=96&d=mm&r=g5880d8f1290cf483c90d020275b797d5","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9f8d00b71d868f4b09f34e580063db237e228a72ac6e603e3f762d11cfda0519?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9f8d00b71d868f4b09f34e580063db237e228a72ac6e603e3f762d11cfda0519?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Joann Vaughan"},"url":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/author\/joann-vaughan\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/86"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1241"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1976,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1241\/revisions\/1976"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1241"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/public-safety-policy-legal-studies-educational-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}