TED DİYARBAKIR COLLEGE / 11-C
To Bring or Not To Bring Extinct Species Back To Life ?
Roza YALÇIN
Since the advent of human beings , a lot of species got in danger . Between 30 and 159 species disappear every day . More than 300 types of animals have already vanished . The evolution of human beings made the world less green and full of dangerous materials . They started harming habitats with contamination which decreased and endangered the variety of species .
Today , we have lost lots of animals such as dinosaurs , passenger pigeon , woolly mammoth , etc . Hovered on the scientific fringes and new advances in genetic engineering , especially the CRISPR-Cas9 Revolution , researchers believe that it ’ s time to bring some animals back . But the question is : Should we do it or not ?
If we have a closer look at the scientists ’ plan on bringing them back , we can see that they need those animals ’ genetic material . Also , according to scientists , the animals that will be brought back will be more like hybrids . For example , if we look at the passenger pigeon , scientists need to use a similar animal ’ s genetic material to have the closest copy of it .
There ’ s another question , too . Is it ethical to bring them back ? If the resurrected animals are reintroduced to their changed habitats , they might suffer . Also , they might harm the habitats and the species living there .
What if the hybrids start acting like the original ones in time ? There are some possibilities to manipulate their behaviour to fit in the modern habitats , but there is also a chance to behave like their wild ancestors .
“ De-extinction ” of animals can help the damaged habitats , but I believe that it ’ s always better to be sure of and be thankful for what we have .