de-extinction - Species Extinction

The passenger pigeon was once considered the most common bird in North America. Today, it exists only in historical records and museum specimens. Now, modern gene-editing technologies aim to bring the species back. (© Hayashi and Toda (artists), Charles Otis Whitman (author)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

2024-10-25 Doreen Fräßdorf

The Revival of the Passenger Pigeon: A Project by Revive & Restore

The passenger pigeon, once the most common bird in North America, has been extinct for more than a century. Now, biologists from the nonprofit organization Revive & Restore have set a goal to bring the species back using cutting-edge gene-editing technologies. Under the leadership of Ben Novak, efforts are underway

Scientists have discovered a well-preserved thylacine head, including tissue, at a museum in Melbourne, Australia. This find could aid efforts to revive the extinct thylacine using genetic techniques. (© Westell, William Percival, 1874-1937, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

2024-10-18 Doreen Fräßdorf

Putrid Museum Find Reveals 99.9% of Thylacine Genome

Researchers recently found a long-overlooked bucket in the back of a Melbourne Museum cabinet, containing a well-preserved thylacine head stored in ethanol for over 110 years. Andrew Pask, head of the Tigrr Lab at the University of Melbourne, described the sight as “gruesome” in an interview with The Guardian, noting

The U.S. biotechnology company Colossal Biosciences announced on October 1st its plan to revive the ivory-billed woodpecker by 2025, amidst the ongoing debate about whether this iconic bird species is truly extinct. The ivory-billed woodpecker was once a keystone species in the forests of the southern United States, playing a