BACK TO THE FUTURE-CURRENT TRENDS IN RESURRECTION BIOLOGY
“Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve its life than destroy it.”
-Henry David Thoreau
Resurrection biology being something used in our current day and age, is unbeknownst to most, since it has come a long way from the mind of Spielberg in Jurassic Park.
Its requirement lies in finding solutions to new-age problems, by decoding the genes of the past and 2023 marked multiple projects attempting to do so.
But, many such resurrections happen out of control, and lie more in the hands of climate change. ‘Zombie viruses’ for example, lying dormant in the permafrost, are once again exposed, posing a threat due to lack of predators, which are long extinct. One such case was seen by Jean-Michel Claverie, who discovered amoeba infecting viruses, in the depths of the Siberian permafrost. Deliberate attempts, however, utilize three primary methods depending on the animal at hand.
One such method, back breeding, involves selective breeding of surviving relatives to concentrate features that resemble the extinct species. This approach is used in species that have comparable features but are not genetically identical. Colossal Biosciences, in 2023, announced projects aiming to reinstate the de-extinction status of dodos, via this approach, using Nicobar Pigeons, a close relative of dodos.
Editing the genome allows for a more tailored solution using techniques such as CRISPR. Here, live animals' genomes may be edited to resemble those of extinct species. For example, the insertion of woolly mammoth genes into Asian elephant cells was performed due to the positive impact of mammoths on the permafrost. The sheer size of these animals, aided by permafrost, can now help safeguard the viruses being uncovered.
A solution to bring back woolly mammoths was also found in cloning, via Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) where a genetic replica of an extinct species is made from preserved cells. However, this necessitates the use of viable cells, which are uncommon in extinct animals, thus acting as a hurdle in embryo development.
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Nevertheless, the bringing back of an entire species weighs heavy, both on the wallets of investors and the minds of the scientists, due to the ethics behind it. Important as these issues are, the matter of de-extinction itself could prove invaluable since pathogens present today can be rivalled by compounds from the past, due to lack of interaction between them. Analysing and isolating components in prehistoric DNA, could open up the possibilities in the fight against superbugs. This was done in the case of Neanderthals to help in the fight against diseases faced by humans today.
The dilemmas faced while discussing de-extinction requires proceeding with caution, when it comes to picking the subjects of interest. But if carefully deliberated, these techniques could undo the negative impacts made by humans, and also curb further threats.
