Contents
- Who is a specialist in the revival of extinct species
- What Does an Extinct Species Restoration Specialist Do?
- Essential Skills for an Extinct Species Restoration Specialist
- Trends and directions of the profession
- Where and when will the profession come
- How to Become an Extinct Species Restoration Specialist
The revival of extinct species of fauna can save the planet from global warming, but each resurrected species threatens the existence of three living ones. We tell who and how solves these problems
Who is a specialist in the revival of extinct species
An extinct species revivalist is a genetic scientist who recreates extinct organisms and reintegrates them into their natural habitat. Also, such specialists can breed new species that are genetically close to extinct.
Right now, for example, scientists are working to revive woolly mammoths, dodos, North American passenger pigeons, Tasmanian marsupial wolves, flightless razors, Iberian ibexes, and heather grouse.
The specialist in the revival of extinct species is one of the professions of the future.
What Does an Extinct Species Restoration Specialist Do?
First, scientists need to get the DNA and decipher the genome of the revived species. For example, scientists have relatively many well-preserved remains of woolly mammoths, but even their genome has not yet been fully deciphered.
The resurrectionist then needs to find the closest relatives among the living animals. The female of the found species becomes a surrogate mother and bears a modified egg with a new organism.
Further, scientists can act according to two scenarios.
The first is not much different from the way Dolly the sheep was cloned. The DNA of an extinct animal donor is implanted into an unfertilized egg, and then the resulting embryo is implanted into a surrogate mother. A similar experiment with Iberian ibexes ended in partial success – the mother was able to endure and give birth to a goat, but he did not live more than seven minutes.
The second scenario is based on CRISPR genetic editing technology. It is being studied, for example, at the startup Colossal Biosciences. The idea is to take only a part of the genes of an extinct species that form the basis of its identity – this is how scientists identified 50 mammoth genes responsible for resistance to cold. Then this part of the genome will be inserted into the cells of Asian elephants, our contemporaries. The resulting hybrid will be implanted in the eggs, which will be nurtured by female resistant African elephants.
Essential Skills for an Extinct Species Restoration Specialist
Such specialists need an in-depth understanding of genetic engineering methods, as well as higher education in the biological sciences such as genetics, molecular and cell biology. Here’s what else will come in handy:
- Knowledge of foreign languages for work in international scientific groups.
- Seeing.
- Creativity.
- Interdisciplinary approach.
Trends and directions of the profession
The main trend is to work in international groups and use the experience and knowledge of different countries. For example, the study of mammoths is a joint project of NEFU. M.K. Ammosov and the Korean organization Sooam Biotech Research Foundation. And the startup Colossal Biosciences is buying genetic materials to recreate extinct species in Yakutia.
The study of the genome of extinct species makes a fundamental contribution to science. Elena Grigorieva, a specialist in molecular paleontology, notes that such studies give us discoveries that can be used to create useful probiotic cultures, antibiotics and immunomodulators. Colossal Biosciences suggests that the settlement of the Arctic tundra with a population of mammoths will help slow climate change. According to scientists, if the former ecosystem in the Arctic is recreated, it is possible to stop the melting of permafrost and the release of greenhouse gases.
But specialists in recreating extinct species also face specific challenges and challenges. For example, scientists from Australia, New Zealand and Canada note that it is necessary to revive populations with great care. Their joint research shows that one recreated species can destroy up to three existing ones.
The issues of integrating the revived species into the existing environment can be solved by projects like the Pleistocene Park in Yakutia. The first experiments to recreate this ancient ecosystem were started in 1988 by Sergey Zimov. Today, in order to achieve this goal, populations of elk, reindeer, yaks, sheep, Kalmyk cows, Yakut horses, musk oxen, steppe bison and bison are artificially created there. It is this experience that the startup Colossal Biosciences is addressing.
Where and when will the profession come
The profession is getting closer with discoveries in the field of genome research. It exists at the intersection of paleogenetics, the science of the DNA of fossil organisms, and genetic engineering, the field of knowledge about the modifications of the genetic code.
The revival of extinct species is already being done in the non-profit Californian organization Revive & Restore, the startup Colossal, the NEFU-based ICCT Molecular Biology, and even Elon Musk’s Neuralink.
How to Become an Extinct Species Restoration Specialist
To get into the profession, you will need a higher education in genetics or genetic engineering. Then you should be puzzled by obtaining a master’s degree in molecular or cellular biology. This will be a good base to get into a specialized scientific laboratory. For example, such research is carried out at Harvard and Pennsylvania Universities, and in our country – at NEFU.