Cloning an endangered species?

[RoadRunner]

Life is getting too, too weird. They just cloned an endangered animal, the Asian gaur, a humpbacked cow-like animal. And then they impregnated a cow with the cloned cells. It is the first endangered animal ever to be cloned and the first animal ever to gestate in the uterus of another species.

This seems to be getting out of hand. What do you think? Ich.

[RoadRunner]

In case you were wondering, the cow's name is Bessie. LOL! It had to be.

[RoadRunner]

Now they are talking about the fact that this strange animal called the Tasmanian tiger might be resurrected. Well, not exactly resurrected, but brought back from extinction. They found some DNA from one, and cloning is underway. It's not really a tiger, but a striped marsupial wolf. Weird. Check out the picture at ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/cloning_tasmaniantiger000822.html).

The last known Tasmanian tiger died in 1936.

[TWTCommish]

Bessie...now that's a great name. :) Not that I'd name my child Bessie or anything...

I'm torn on cloning...with humans, I do not support it. With animals, it may be necessary to provide food for people all across the world. As for endangered species: if man expanding is the cause, then yes, we should do what we can to preserve it. I for one would have loved to see a "DoDo" up close. :)

[blinc]

I'm also all for cloning endangered/extinct animals. What a wonderful thing it would be, if man could bring back to life the species we helped to wipe off the face of this earth.

[TTP]

I think cloning endangered species is a good thing. It's good to see science put to good use finally.

[theyeti]

I've always been thinking that we shouldn't bring so much technology into nature, that we might want to just leave well enough alone.... i guess i'm undecided on this one.

[necrominator]

Taz is back, i wondered what happened to that lovable creature we all adored saturday mornings.

[cassowary]

I really hope this project is a success if for no other reason than my curiosity, but even if it is, where do we go from here? We have one single invidual's genome to clone. Even if we had one of each sex, we still couldn't repopulate the species without a far more substantial gene pool. For all we know, this specimen might have a drastic genetic mutation that makes it a poor representation of the species we wish to study. If it doesn't, well we're still very limited regarding how we can learn from it since we'll have no others of it's kind with which to interact.

For all practical purposes, the species will still be extinct.

[Zephyrus]

I think it's the best thing to come out of cloning! Seriously, the applications could be huge, not only in feeding the populations of the world, but also to help reverse what we have done through arrogance and inaction.

My idea is that they should start a large, world wide project similar to the Human Genome Project to gather the DNA of every single known species (well at least enough genomes to start up a healthy population again, around 100 per species would be enough?). Then, build a giant underground facility where these genomes are to be kept and preserved, even in the eventuality of nuclear war...This of course should be done and funded by the UN.

Maybe they should call it Project Eden!

[Zephyrus]

By the way, a piece of news relating to this topic...

The UK approved a bill last week allowing the cloning of human embryos for the production of stem cells ("blank" cells which can become any type of cell in our body), provided that they are destroyed within a period of 14 days...

This could be a first step to what everyone fears. I don't however think that this is bad, but rather on the contrary, that there can be a lot of benefits from such technology! :)

[blinc]

Aren't the stem cells, the cells that are used to grow an organ? Like a kidney or heart, etc? The one's that can be used to make anything? If so, I'm with you on this Zephyrus... can you imagine the hope it would offer to parents of terminally ill children. Children who will die without a heart/lung/kidney transplant? Heck, anyone who's on a waiting list, it will have to give hope to.

[Swimmers]

I personally feel that the cloning of endangered animals is a good thing. Most of these animals are gone or endangered because of humans..so us trying to bring them back is good. I don't think that God intended these creatures to die off that quickly..everything on Earth has a purpose and the purpose of these speices is to live. So I'm all for it..however, the cloning of Humans isn't cool with me at all.

And that was my 2 cents!

[Zephyrus]

Yep blinc, any cell in our body can be grown from these stem cells. The potential applications range from things like cures for Parkinsons and Alzheimers (by making new brain cells), curing quadruplegics so they can walk again, cancers, organ transplants...the possibilities seem endless!

[blinc]

It sure does hold amazing possibilities. *shakes head* It could really be something to think that people won't be dying of old age causes, like worn out hearts, kidneys, etc., maybe they'll just go in for a replacement part! Wonder how long the human life span will end up being? What do you think? If this process works, I could see people living to be a couple hundred years old, easily. Now that would be wonderful, wouldn't it? Gifted people, being able to continue on with their works, not having to give it up because of the limits of the current lifespan. Of course, it could be bad in the sense that overpopulation could become a problem real fast.

[Zephyrus]

You definitely said it there blinc! I really don't know how we can solve the overpopulation problem, I just don't see any way out of it, and extending the lifespan of a human is just waaay out there! We'll become like locusts, just eat away everything and move on, and I really don't like the idea of seeing us like that!

I'm studying genetic engineering, but I have no intention on ever working on such a project to extend the human life span, because we'll definitely regret it (in my opinion anyway)! :)

[keithster]

Scientists have been busy.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/frame/direct.asp?SITE=dailytelegraph.com.au/common/story_page/0,4511,1793134%255E3163,00.html

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/frame/direct.asp?SITE=thecouriermail.com.au/common/story_page/0,4511,1792424%255E954,00.html

This was bound to happen.

Has anyone read Brave New World?

[keithster]

Originally posted by Swimmers
Most of these animals are gone or endangered because of humans..
I don't believe that's true. There have been thousands of species once alive on this planet that went bye-bye due to non-human circumstances. Dinosaurs for example (although I think that has probably been blamed on white males dwelling in the US :) )

It is accurate to say that the biggest threat to endangered species today comes from humans.

[Zephyrus]

I am really DISGUSTED by the news that they are planning to clone a human being!! It is one area where we should definitely not venture into!

I mean, what sort of an excuse is "I'm willing to help infirtile couples who want to have a baby"?? I'm wondering if they ever heard of adoption? And having a baby does involve TWO parents, not just the cloning of one...

Uuggghh I'll come back to this when I settle down a bit! :)

[Grimey]

I wonder what happened with this cloned engangered species.

It seems like most cloning hasn't really worked.

[theyeti]

I searched google news and it didn't come up with anything lately.

Personally I'm against playing God, even if it means we're not able to correct stupid things we've done in the past. Instead of relying on cloning as a catch-all, maybe we should try and stop these environmental problems before they get out of hand?

It's ironic, because right now we're worried about figuring out how to make more organisms, but in the future if we don't figure how to get further into space we'll be worried about how to have [i]less[/] organisms.

[jamesglewisf]

I don't like cloning at all. As for endangered species - survival of the fittest, baby.

I'm personally glad that we don't have to contend with dinosaurs today. ;)

[Alec]

I don't liek B-movies. Cloning is too much of a B-movie topic. For that reason, I'm against it.

[Grimey]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/17/tech/main593847.shtmlA Kentucky fertility specialist said Saturday he had implanted a cloned human embryo in a 35-year-old woman - a claim met with skepticism by many scientists.

Dr. Panos Zavos said it was too early to say whether the woman would become pregnant and give birth to a cloned baby.

British Health Secretary John Reid said attempting to create a cloned baby was illegal in Britain and a “gross misuse of genetic science.”

A spokesman for Britain's Royal Society said the scientists' group was “extremely skeptical.” Wolff Reik, a cloning expert at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, called the attempt to clone a human irresponsible.

What's different about the claim, made in London, is that it comes from an American doctor. Zavos runs a fertility clinic in Lexington, Kentucky. What's familiar, CBS News Correspondent Richard Roth reports, is that he's giving few details and no evidence. Hoax or real? What do you think?

What ever happened to that cult that claimed to clone a human? Anybody know?

[theyeti]

I think it's one of those things people don't want to think about.

There's a lot of things I'm morally opposed to. But other than being opposed to it, what am I gonna do? I think that's the case with a lot of people, and it bugs us as a society.

I hope it's a hoax.

Then again, maybe after we've got a few cloned humans out there, there'll be a greater response as to how stupid it is. But, if the technology exists, it will be done... this is a fact of life, and no matter what laws we enact, chances are someone will do it somehow, somewhere. If it hasn't happened already, it's only a matter of when.