The Dodo, a flightless bird native to the island of Mauritius, has been extinct for over 300 years. But now, a biotech company has announced plans to bring the species back to life through a process called de-extinction.
De-extinction is a process by which extinct species are revived through genetic engineering. The biotech company, Colossal Biosciences, has secured over $1 billion in funding to undertake this ambitious project. The plan is to extract DNA from the closest living relatives of the Dodo, such as pigeons, and use it to recreate the extinct bird’s DNA.
The process of de-extinction is still in its infancy, but it has the potential to bring back species that have gone extinct due to human activity, like the Tasmanian wolf and the woolly mammoth. The resurrection of the Dodo would not only bring back a species that has been lost forever but could also help to restore the ecosystem of the island of Mauritius.
Critics argue that it is a waste of resources and that it is impossible to recreate an ecosystem that has been destroyed. They also argue that the focus should be on preserving existing species and habitats, rather than trying to bring back extinct species.
The project to bring back the Dodo is still in its early stages and there is much work to be done, but in a recent press release the Dallas-based company claims it has decrypted the dodo’s entire genome, making their whole project actually viable. The company is confident that the Dodo will be the next species to be successfully resurrected.
Ultimately, the plans to bring back the Dodo are ambitious and have the potential to revive a species that has been lost for over 300 years. While there are still many challenges to overcome, the potential benefits of de-extinction make it an exciting area of scientific research. Whether it is possible to successfully bring back the Dodo remains to be seen, but it is clear that de-extinction has the potential to make a significant impact on the conservation of endangered species and the restoration of ecosystems.
The post Billion-dollar biotech company plans to bring the Dodo back to life and reintroduce them into the wild appeared first on Yup That Exists.
This content was originally published here.
