Now the dire wolf is back. Next the mammoth, but why. What is the point, would we ever reintroduce them into the ecosystem, would that be a good idea?
Now the dire wolf is back. Next the mammoth, but why. What is the point, would we ever reintroduce them into the ecosystem, would that be a good idea?
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It is pointless. We can’t even protect the species we already have!
It’s been argued that some ecosystems have been out of balance ever since humans drove these animals into extinction thousands of years ago. For example, avocados are going extinct in the wild without giant sloths to eat them and poop out their enormous seeds. IIRC the lack of mammoths in Siberia is compromising the tundra and resulting in permafrost and greenhouse gasses escaping
The mammoth could probably be reintroduced to the environment because it didn’t go extinct that long ago, and from what I’ve heard it was hunted to extinction.
Get your point. However, if we can do this, perhaps it’s a good step towards ensuring endangered species can increase in numbers, or bring back recently extinct ones.
Because it draws a lot more attention and therefore more money more boring and straightforward genetic research, and that money can then be used on the more boring and straightforward genetic research.
The same techniques used to modify living animals to resemble extinct variations can be used to cure cancers or create better livestock or even ultimately bioengineer the ecosystem back from devastation.
The dire wolf is not back. The Colossal Biosciences puppies are grey wolves with some genetic tweaks to make them look like a dire wolf. But they are only dire wolves in the same way that a dalmatian is a cow because it has spots. So you can’t reintroduce them anywhere. At most you can put them in a zoo as an attraction, which is probably what’s going to happen.
Because it’s awesome
They aren’t dire wolves. It’s a click-bait headline.
dude.
the direwolf is “not” back. stop spreading this sensationalist BS
have you seen those ribs they brought Fred Flintstone???
Just because we can.
That’s just bioengineering in the working.
We try to prove to religious nuts that if science is playing god then perhaps god should not left those tools around
We have a whole movie franchise that explains why we shouldn’t do this btw
I guess they want to try because we “can.” Whether we “should” is an entirely different thing.
Just like most other things in science. We do it because it’s interesting and fun and incredible.
The thing is, the Dire wolf isn’t “back”.
>As dire wolves belonged to a completely different genus, Aenocyon, Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi are in fact genetically-engineered grey wolves.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romulus,_Remus,_and_Khaleesi
this is little more than a stunt by a genetics company to generate interest and investors. That’s all.
This is just to hype up the company. These are not dire wolves, those weren’t even closely related to grey wolves. Supposedly they want to bring back what we lost, but there’s a reason we lost mega predators and it’s because their food supply also went extinct.
Money. Although if I could see real ass dinosaurs I’m all for it. Jurassic park ahead of its time.
We’ll have a coupon day
As Arthur Morgan put it:
Mon’eh
The dire wolf isn’t back, it’s nonsense. They’ve basically bred just a big wolf. It’s not genetically the same as a dire wolf.
So humans will have something to hunt in the next stone age.
People are basically trying to play God, but like, in a really cool, Jurassic Park way. The point? I think it’s just because we can, and we like the idea of resurrecting the past, even if it’s just to flex our tech skills.
I guess a test run for attempts to preserve current endangered species
The main reason we do these experiments is to gain knowledge. Cloning dolly the sheep lead to advances in stem cell research, and better understanding of cell differentiation. If we know exactly how cells behave, and are able to modify DNA, we can cure cancer and other diseases. The fact that the dire wolf is back is just a stepping stone toward more scientific discovery, not the end goal.
Do you know how many animals are extinct because of humans and human interference? That’s why. They deserve to be here.
It will help us improve our knowledge of genetics and ecosystems. There might well be no place for the mammoth in current ecosystems, but understanding why that is, and how the genetics express themselves at the ecosystem level will help us be better stewards moving forward.
And it’s clear that we will need to be better stewards moving forward to counter as much of the damage we’ve already done and will continue to do.