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De-Extinction Is Now a Thing—Starting With Passenger Pigeons

posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday October 24 2018, @03:21PM   Printer-friendly
from the buy-stock-in-car-washes dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

Singularity Hub:

Novak is among a small group of "de-extinction" engineers, a relatively fringe group of scientists that hope to use genetic engineering to protect or revive iconic animal species ravaged by human activity.

To some, de-extinction is an ecological-sized guilt trip, a species-wide Pet Cemetery horror story ripe for disaster. Yes, biodiversity is important; but who is to say that an extinct species can adapt and survive in an ecological system that's moved on since its passing? Or perhaps more importantly, what if newly-revived animals—a true "invasive species" for Earth—cause more damage than good to our fragile ecosystem?

"Why go through the trouble" is something his team gets asked, said Novak. For passenger pigeons, the answer is simple: recently, almost a millennium [century] after their man-driven extinction, we finally understand the critical role they played in shaping the eastern North American ecosphere.

The passenger pigeon isn't extinct -- it's merely resting.

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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Blymie on Wednesday October 24 2018, @04:54PM (2 children)

    by Blymie (4020) on Wednesday October 24 2018, @04:54PM (#753096)

    You're thinking of something else... these aren't birds from an island or some such.

    Passenger pigeons used to be so numerous in North America, that they literally blocked out the sun for an hour or more when a flock of them flew by. Millions and millions, literally millions per flock.

    They lived in cliffs, and were apparently very easy to hunt. Hunted completely to extinction, just like the buffalo were.

    There are numerous recipes for them in old cook books too.... apparently delicious if spiced correctly. They've been talking about bringing it back for a long time, since they have very good specimens with great DNA around...

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  • (Score: 1) by Blymie on Wednesday October 24 2018, @04:57PM

    by Blymie (4020) on Wednesday October 24 2018, @04:57PM (#753098)

    Sorry .. didn't see your dodo subject line. My bad.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 24 2018, @10:22PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 24 2018, @10:22PM (#753329)

    If the old passenger pigeon recipes aren't that good, they might be a good source of wings...for buffalo wings (said the AC from Buffalo, NY).