Cloning and Extinction

Illustration of Tasmanian tiger from Natural Geographic

New studies recently uncovered an intact genome of a recently declared extinct species of marsupial called the Tasmanian tigers, this discovery has led to new information related to natural extinction. The research, “Secrets from Beyond Extinction: The Tasmanian Tiger”, conducted in association with the University of Melbourne describes the university’s effort to reestablish a currently extinct species. After being hunted to near extinction, museums everywhere began searching for specimen to be put on display. Decades later with the advancement of genetic techniques and the development of cloning, Professor Andrew Pask put together a team of scientists to comb their records for intact, well preserved samples of the Tasmanian tiger. The article remarks on the successes of preserving and sequencing the genome of a sample of a Tasmanian tiger pup, which went extinct over a century ago. Acquiring an intact genome is the first step to bringing back any extinct animal, followed by finding a suitable species to try and host a developing embryo. The data shed light on the physical traits that the tigers possessed, such as colorage, striping, and skull shape with the research team noting their similarities to wolves, citing it as an exelent example of convergent evolution. However, genetic analysis of the tiger revealed that even without overhunting and human interference, the Tasmanian tiger would have likely died off on its own due to the limited genetic diversity within its population. This finding leads us to consider our role in determining whether a species goes extinct due to the laws of nature or due to our meddling, and whether it is our responsibility to then try and bring it back to existence.

Skilled artist's rendition of the
extinct Tasmanian tiger :(

Comments

Large Population of Adélie Penguins Discovered

A recent article highlighted in Nature Journey documents a new find in the Antarctic, a huge population of Ad é lie penguins on the Danger Islands . This population numbers in around 1.5 million individuals, that were previously not known to researchers. This hotspot for penguins was found with the assistance of aerial drones to access parts of the Antarctic Peninsula that were previously inaccessible by boat. This finding gives proof of concept to this method of data acquisition, and leads researchers to look in more remote places for tracking species more closely. Contrary to the general trend associated with climate change reducing Antarctic ice mass, this population of penguins has been largely unaffected; they will however, be considered in ongoing efforts of conservation due to their large significance in the region. Throughout the continent, Ad é lie penguin populations have decreased as much as 70 due to rising air temp and decreased ice packing’s effect on prey availabi...

Using Snow Coat as an Example of Climate Change and Adaptive Traits

Least Weasels as drawn by skilled illustrator In a recent study in Science Journal, climate researchers L. Scott Mills, et al, are using seasonal coat changes as an example to demonstrate the need for adaptive rescue strategies for saving species from human initiated climate change. Many species in snow covered areas have adapted to seasonal snow by possessing white coats in the winter and then shedding them for brown coats when snow is less prevalent, this trait is known as winter coat polymorphism. The study tracked the coloration of four species of hares, three weasles, and arctic wolves in relation to their geographical location and annual snow cover. Using over 2500 samples from over 60 countries the researchers determined ranges for the species sampled where there are white only, brown only, and both white and brown. This research is important for conservationists to recognize the effect adaption has on fitness in changing climates. It recognizes in discreet ways how ...

Bathing Apes before Hype Beasts

This week’s post comes after a very stressful week for me; exams, papers, and scrambling to get ready for graduation. At the end of Thursday I ended up going home for Alec’s birthday (my little brother who just turned 14), the weekend, by contrast was very relaxing. Alec is much different than me or my older brother, probably because of the large age gap, he is obsessed with brand name clothes and shoes and the like. While having dinner on Saturday, we began to ridicule him for looking up and dreaming about $2000 Nikes, Supreme gear and Bathing Ape, so while looking for a topic for this blog, the latter brand took my interest, Above is a video about Japan’s famous “bathing apes”; the macaques. The video starts off describing the history of how a group of macaques started using naturally occurring hotsprings in the colder northern region of japan. The macaques began using these hotsprings in human establishments, so to keep both groups happy, locals built a site just for the macaque...

Unwind The Helix

Search This Blog