#deextinction

[reasonsforhope]

"During an archaeological dig in a desert area north of Jerusalem 40 years ago, a seed was discovered which was determined to be in pristine condition but had obviously seen many a year.

Now, despite falling from its parent 1,000 years ago, it has grown into a mature tree, and botanists examining it believe it may be an extinct species that was used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years—even receiving a nod in the Bible.

Neither Israeli botanists, nor Dr. Sarah Sallon, a physician who founded the Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem, could determine what species it was from simply from the seed covering. So they did what nature intended—they planted it.

Using a well-documented technique that saw 2,000-year-old date palm fruit pits germinate, Dr. Sallon soaked the seed in hormones, liquid fertilizer, and water, and then planted it in a pot of sterile seed; then waited.

Despite its genetic code being exposed to environmental stressors for over 1,000 years, the seed sprouted after 5 weeks. The shoot was protected by a caplike feature called an operculum. As the shoot grew, the operculum was shed—leaving something for the team to radiocarbon date. It narrowed down the age of the almost 10-centuries-old seed to between the years 993 an 1202.

Fast forward 14 years and the plant has become a 10-foot-tall tree. Dr. Sallon shared images of the tree, its bark, and its leaves with botanists around the world. One expert suggested it belonged to the genus Commiphora, found across the Arabian Peninsula and parts of Africa. A genetic analysis subsequently revealed this was the case, but a perfect match was lacking.

Pictured: The tree, now 14 years old.

Dr. Sallon and her team thought it was an extinct species known from history as Judean Balsam, but the best way to confirm that suspicion would be to have some aromatic traces similar to the resins of the myrrh tree to which it is related. However, no such fragrant compounds were detected.

Instead, the chemical analysis of the leaves identified a group of phytochemicals known as guggulterols which have been observed in a related species called Commiphora wightii that’s known to possess certain cancer-fighting properties in its resin.

A medicinal balm, the origin of which is not known, is mentioned in multiple historical texts including the Bible as ‘tsori,’ and rather than the fragrant Judean Balsam, it’s this tsori that Dr. Sallon and her team believe they have found.

They must wait until the tree, now 14 years old, produces flower or fruit to know for sure if it’s an extinct species, and if so, how to perhaps keep it alive.

Dr. Louise Colville, senior research leader in seed and stress biology at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London who wasn’t involved in the research, told CNN that it was a major accomplishment to grow a seed that old and possibly lead to a resurrection of this Biblical botanical.

“What’s surprising in this story is it was just a single seed and to be able to have one chance for that to germinate is extremely lucky,” she said.

“Working in a seed bank, seeing the potential for that extreme longevity gives us hope that banking and storing seeds that some at least will survive for very long periods of time.”"

-via Good News Network, October 8, 2024

--

Note: This is such a good demonstration of why seed banks are so important!! They give us such real and massive hope for deextinction and the revival of endangered species.

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Ok so obviously reviving non avian dinosaurs would be both impossible and I'll advised but like..... what about cloning like elephant birds or moas?

I mean look, we need to stop thinking about bringing the dead back to life and trying to use conservation efforts to preserve endangered living species. That's what I really think

that said, if some rich person made a Moa or an Elephant Bird, my reaction will still be "coooooool". there's just an asterisk after the word, that's all

[pinkpeachypoppies]

Holy FUCK

[its-suanneschafer-author]

My February 2023 books read. The best of these: an ARC of #BrokenBayou (a thriller that oozes malice on every page) by #JenniferMoorehead, #AMothToFlame by #JoeClifford (a thriller with a unique ticking clock), #Extinction by #DouglasPreston (a #JurassicPark type thriller), and the #HeroesOfOlympus series (terrific YA reading) by #RickReardon.

[sagehills]

List of tags for Sagehills: "https://www.tumblr.com/sagehills/tagged/fantastical%20fiction"

#human dorks

#life hacks

#relationship tips

#world of color: hope posting, faith in humanity

#glimpses of starlight: posts I want to show myself and children as emblematic of the good old days

#fantastical fiction: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Fairy Tales respun

#history: fun facts, of course

#a cabin of my own

#mundo para vos: beautiful sights of this world

#slice of life

#festival_ani

#reflected_meteor_streak: that art that feels like “immortalizations of joy” : reflected%20meteor%20streak

#moondust ions: ethereal night

#tea_shop_lee

#tool_sites

#beewing veil: one-of-a-kind, delicate crafts

#milky way dress: unique crafts and design break downs

#deextinction #cottage_plachenta: those adorable boys in homely aesthetic #depthless_blue_sky: emotional scenes form stories or games

#masterpost_library

Fandom tags:

#yuurivoice

#dpxdc #bat family

[mojowriterblog]

Biotech firm Colossal has announced plans to recreate the extinct dodo bird using gene editing, making it the company's third "de-extinction" project after the woolly mammoth and Tasmanian tiger. Colossal raised $150 million in its latest funding round, valuing the company at $1 billion.

The last recorded sighting of the dodo was in the late 17th century, just a few decades after European arrival. The "de-extinction" process will involve inserting a modified bird egg cell into a host egg to create a fertilized egg that contains reproductive cells resembling the extinct species.

Here's the weirdest part: the procedure has attracted investment from In-Q-Tel, the venture capital arm of the US Central Intelligence Agency, which invests in cutting-edge technology for intelligence gathering.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cia-funding-mission-reincarnate-dodo-193700465.html

[theivorybilledwoodpecker]

Do you ever get the feeling that scientists and government officials have never seen Jurassic Park?

Okay, so in terms of danger to humans, the dodo poses zilch (in and of itself). By all accounts, it was harmless. But there are several questions:

Could it survive in this world? It went extinct by 1700. The climate, geography, and ecosystem have changed since then.

Will bringing it back have a negative effect on other species?

Will bringing it back have a negative effect on the entire fucking ecosystem because with how long it's been, it might be the equivalent of introducing an invasive species into the ecosystem?

And scientists know shit all about these. Oh, they've studied historical accounts and fossils. But this isn't a well-studied bird. We don't have the level of information we have on other birds or even birds that more recently went extinct, like the passenger pigeon.

And I can't help but be concerned. Because here's the thing: I'm on the fence about deextinction. I am horrified by the rate at which species are going extinct, and I would love them to get a second chance. But a) we can't even agree on a plan to fix climate change, deforestation, and existing species from going extinct, and b) if we do bring animals back from the grave, we should do so with animals we are reasonably certain won't harm the environment and other animals.

There are animals that have not been extinct for long. The ivory-billed woodpecker. The passenger pigeon. The white rhino (two still alive, but both females). Surely bringing those back would be less risky than bringing back a bird that has been extinct for centuries.

[skyeoak]

Fantasy readers really ask “why can’t dragons be real” like homo sapiens DIDN’T kill off the majority of the world’s megafauna

(It’s me I’m fantasy readers)

[official-nature-posts]

Official nature post

One flock in 1866 in southern Ontario was described as being 1 mi (1.5 km) wide and 300 mi (500 km) long, took 14 hours to pass, and held in excess of 3.5 billion birds. That number, if accurate, would likely represent a large fraction of the entire population at the time.

(Fact Source) For more facts, follow Ultrafacts

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

I know you probably get asked this all the time, but if the technology to clone dinosaurs existed what do you think would happen? (Aside from how they could never be released in the wild, of course) What dinosaur would you most like to see? Also, do you think we could bring back dinosaurs (to a small degree) through selective breeding with birds over time? I doubt it would be possible, but I like to dream!

So, we can't clone nonavian dinosaurs because they're super old. DNA degrades pretty rapidly, and we do not have actually confirmed DNA fragments from anything older than around 2.5 million years. It's just impossible to clone nonavian dinosaurs unless we figure out time travel.

If we do figure out time travel and bring nonavians back, I need to see the first dinosaur. I need to see what level of fluff it had. Frankly, tons of triassic weirdos, because I need to see their floof levels and figure out how feathers evolved. Beyond that, there's too many dinosaurs for me to list.

If we're talking about the avian dinosaurs from the past 2.5 million years we *could*, theoretically, find DNA for and bring back, then I want Pelagornis. That eldritch horror was taken from us waaaaay too soon.

Reverse engineering a dinosaur won't work. I know, because that's what I wanted to do originally, and I went to my first grad program to figure out how to do it, and I learned a lot, and what I learned was that the answer is "no" and Jack Horner needs a new hobby. There's too many variables afoot and too many nonavian dinosaur features that just cannot be put back into the bird genome. What can ya do.

[jayrockin]

I’m curious, i haven’t seen anyone ask this but.

How are ecosystems on earth doing? like, what animals managed to survive into the modern day? Are there any sort of reintroduction projects been done but on a smaller scale?

Bad, especially coasts and islands

Quite a lot but there has been a mass extinction and megafauna were hit worst

There are deextinction projects and some reintroductions but it's a political and regulatory nightmare. Earth has several large orbital zoos, which are mostly privately owned and host deextinction projects; but as they are profit and spectacle motivated they are often home to composite ecosystems and more fanciful prehistoric recreation/deextinction projects than practical ones. Yes this includes dinosaurs, no they are not made from ancient degradated DNA, yes they are GMO chimeras of existing DNA, yes many of them are wildly "inaccurate"

Bonus: There are some GMO pet projects that are invasive in Earth's ecosystems.

That's all I got for now sorry

[its-suanneschafer-author]

ICYMI BOOK REVIEW: #Ambushed by #CarolPotenza. A Jurassic Park type mystery with a hint of unrequited love, third in a series.

[geneticdrifting]

ok tipsy biologist tumblr opinion time: de-extinction is stupid

not for the "LOL juassic park tho" responses I always see because I think that shit is asinine and a non-issue

but. a) it's probably not feasible and even if it is, is your "mostly nicobar pigeon with some dodo DNA" really close enough to a dodo? does it fill that same ecological niche? probably not

and b) in conservation biology funding perspective it would take a truly stupid amount of money. you can't me the cost-benefit analysis of "wouldn't it be cool to see a wooly mammoth again" outweighs putting that money towards conserving existing species

like. recent extinctions are truly mind-numbingly depressing and it's hard for me to think about native hawaiian birds without wanting to cry. and I do really understand and empathize with the desire to bring them back but like. it's too late. we gotta fix what we can fix

[quicksilversquared]

I have been working on this paper on and off (mostly on, with an extended caulking break and also a dinner break) since 10AM. It is almost 9:30.

If I don't go insane/full mad scientist by the time the weekend arrives, it will be a miracle.

My professor said that our write-up has to be minimum 7 pages (double-spaced)....I'm currently on 14 and counting.

....it is possible that I'm going a little too hard on this, but seriously, I am going off of almost nothing in terms of directions and she says that her expectations are high, so going hard it is.

(also I am not happy with Past Me apparently deciding to stick (put source here) throughout the paragraphs that I pre-wrote for the last sections instead of coming up with actual sources. I did this on my proposal, too, and you would think that I would have learned, but no such luck)