But rather than viewing de-extinction as a way to restore one particular species, Shapiro argues that the overarching goal should be the revitalization and stabilization of contemporary ecosystems.
Using DNA collected from remains as a genetic blueprint, scientists aim to engineer extinct traits-traits that evolved by natural selection over thousands of years-into living organisms. Would de-extinction change the way we live? Is this really cloning? What are the costs and risks? And what is the ultimate goal? Journeying to far-flung Siberian locales in search of ice age bones and delving into her own research-as well as those of fellow experts such as Svante Paabo, George Church, and Craig Venter-Shapiro considers de-extinction's practical benefits and ethical challenges. From deciding which species should be restored, to sequencing their genomes, to anticipating how revived populations might be overseen in the wild, Shapiro vividly explores the extraordinary cutting-edge science that is being used-today-to resurrect the past. In How to Clone a Mammoth, Beth Shapiro, evolutionary biologist and pioneer in "ancient DNA" research, walks readers through the astonishing and controversial process of de-extinction.
An insider's view on bringing extinct species back to lifeĬould extinct species, like mammoths and passenger pigeons, be brought back to life? The science says yes.
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