Torill Kornfeldt

An interesting, easy to read, if somewhat superficial, journey around the globe to explore what geneticists are up to in terms of reviving, cloning, storing or otherwise fiddling with the genetics of extinct and almost extinct animals and plants in order to aid in conservation efforts or to recreate the extinct animal. The author also covers the ethics of using genetic engineering in various ways. This book doesn't cover anything new (except the conservation of trees) that hasn't been covered by other books on the same topic. A nice, easy, informative read.

OTHER BOOKS

- Rise of the Necrofauna: A Provocative Look at the Science, Ethics, and Risks of De-Extinction by Britt Wray [General]
- Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-Extinction by Helen Pilcher [General]
- Resurrection Science: Conservation, De-Extinction and the Precarious Future of Wild Things by M.R. O'Connor [focus on conservation]
- The Fall of the Wild - Extinction, De-Extinction, and the Ethics of Conservation by Ben A. Minteer [focus on ethics and conservation]
- How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction by Beth Shapiro [focus on the science and ethics]







… (mere)

"A Second Chance for Extinct Animals"? What exactly does that mean? Kornfeldt examines the various "de-extinction" projects going on around the world, as well as past attempts at species re-creation (the aurochs). She looks at the ethics of the projects themselves, as well as potential ramifications of success. She does a great job of explaining the projects themselves as well as the people working on them (from trained scientists in top-of-the-line labs to breeders not unlike cat/dog breeders.) As a non-scientist, I found this book to be very well done, with the science explained at a level of detail perfect for me.

What is currently going on? There is cloning (only possible for the Northern White Rhino, which is functionally extinct but cells from many individuals are alive but frozen); controlled breeding of close species (the auroch); genentic modification (the American chestnut tree, also functionally extinct, as discussed in Richard Powers' The Overstory; corals); DNA and cell manipulation of related species (wooly mammoth, passenger pigeon, dinosaurs). The science that enabled people in Jurassic Park to create dinosaurs absolutely does not exist right now. (Pet peeve: not until the endnotes does the author acknowledge that Jurassic Park was a book before it was a movie, the entire text refers to the movie.)

She also looks at the ethics with these various projects. Is it ethical to be trying to evolve chickens back into dinosaurs as...pets? Is it ethical to try to recreate the passenger pigeon, that would be released into a very different world (also--no chestnut trees)? Is it a good idea to try to create a coral that can survive higher temperatures, or would it be better to search for such a coral that might occur naturally? Is it worthwhile to try to revolve a new woolly mammoth to help save the permafrost (explained in detail in chapter 15)--or would it be better to simply introduce lots of musk ox and horses to accomplish the same goal faster? How could you clone a Northern White Rhinoceros given that there are no artificial wombs to actually grow the clone? Could a Southern White Rhino be used? They are not exactly lab or domestic animals, is it even feasible?

In addition to the ethics of these projects, Kornfeldt also looks at questions that would arise given success: is a wooly mammoth engineered from an Asian elephant actually a woolly mammoth, or is it a new species or a GMO elephant? Is a reverse-bred auroch an auroch or a new species of cattle? Would passenger pigeons based on band-tailed pigeons be passenger pigeons? Does it matter? Would that passenger pigeon behave like a passenger pigeon or a band-tailed pigeon, which have very very different behaviors? Would any of these creates know how to fill their ancestors' niches, or would they need to be taught, and who could do the teaching? Given the history of invasive species, would releasing any of these projects into the wild be smart or potentially catastrophic? How would the modern world deal with passenger pigeons that acted like passenger pigeons, or how would Europe deal with auroch in all the open land?

There is a lot to think about in this book, and I found it fascinating. The translation (from Swedish) is also very well done, it did not feel awkward at all.… (mere)

Since I heard about the attempts to bring the Mammoth back from extinction several years ago I have been fascinated with the concept and this dream. I found this book to be fascinating, especially in the realization that there is not a single method to resurrecting the plethora of extinct species. This book travels the world and explores the many different methods being researched by different scientists working with different animals. Indeed, it seems as though each species requires careful consideration to determine what approach may be most effective. I admit that I was a little disappointed that some scientists are spending time making these small incremental changes to extant species to give them one trait or another from an extinct species, in effect creating a limited hybrid or an animal that is superficially similar to an extinct species, but in actuality not very similar after all. It is an interesting goal, but not what I am most interested in: reviving a specimen that is nearly identical to the extinct species. The methods themselves are quite complex and difficult for the average reader to understand, but I felt like this book struck a good balance of technical detail that was understandable without having an advanced degree in some field of genetics or microbiology. I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the scientific efforts to revive extinct species.… (mere)