No 'Jurassic Park': Dinosaurs off the de-extinction list

[RedPatriot]

Quote:

Dinosaurs won't be coming soon to a park near you -- although bringing them back to life might be possible.

Indeed, resurrecting long extinct species such as the woolly mammoth, passenger pigeon or other extinct species is the subject of a conference in Washington set to take place Friday at the National Geographic Society. Organizers say rapid advances in molecular biology and new conservation perspectives are creating a new field called "de-extinction."

Speakers include Chris Anderson, curator of the TED Conference talk series, Australian paleontologist Michael Archer and Spanish researcher Alberto FernDandez-Arias, who has worked on cloning a now-extinct goat.

The daylong conference will include discussions of the ethical issues raised if extinct species can be brought back. Those questions include whether they should be released back into the wild and which species should be chosen.

But organizers say dinosaurs aren't among the candidate species, unlike in the movie "Jurassic Park."

Source;
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/03/15/no-jurassic-park-dinosaurs-off-de-extinction-menu/

[Ringoringa]

Not even for a real-life Jurassic Park? We don't have to release them into the wild! Aww, man, screw the people making these decisions, I want dinosaur zoos! I know, I know, "they could escape and wreak havoc on the ecosystem." Of course, the tigers in the zoos here could do the exact same thing, so that doesn't even work as an argument, really.

...I want a pet microraptor. gonk

[no thank you]

I'd love to see the Dodo Bird make a comeback. smile

[A mali]

Homing Pigeon...returns.

[Eveille]

Well, dinosaurs are still off the list just because we can't bring them back yet even if we wanted to no?

Also, the pigeon didn't really go extinct that long ago, a little over a century? Certainly not comparable to the others on the list.

I think that anything over 200 years extinct would be risky to reintroduce, I don't think they'd do as much good as they might do harm to a system that has evolved beyond them already. Perhaps keep them in a zoo environment? A GOOD zoo environment, not some circus side show or personal menagerie.

Personally I'd like to see certain plant species make a come back and Hawaiian and other island birds and mammal species that have been destroyed.

Most of all though I think I'd like this tech to help currently living species that are on the brink, like Asian variants of African animals, make a comeback.

[Sailor Tin Nyanko]

Ringoringa

Not even for a real-life Jurassic Park? We don't have to release them into the wild! Aww, man, screw the people making these decisions, I want dinosaur zoos! I know, I know, "they could escape and wreak havoc on the ecosystem." Of course, the tigers in the zoos here could do the exact same thing, so that doesn't even work as an argument, really.

...I want a pet microraptor. gonk

For your Entertainment

Warning: Illegal and the begginning is mostly boring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZnNya8xzbI

[Ratttking]

A mali

Homing Pigeon...returns.

It never left. Passenger pigeons were Ectopistes migratorius, homing pigeons are Columba livia domestica - a domestic variety of the rock pigeon which is commonly seen eating garbage worldwide.

[Commander Sigma]

Eveille

Well, dinosaurs are still off the list just because we can't bring them back yet even if we wanted to no?

Also, the pigeon didn't really go extinct that long ago, a little over a century? Certainly not comparable to the others on the list.

I think that anything over 200 years extinct would be risky to reintroduce, I don't think they'd do as much good as they might do harm to a system that has evolved beyond them already. Perhaps keep them in a zoo environment? A GOOD zoo environment, not some circus side show or personal menagerie.

Personally I'd like to see certain plant species make a come back and Hawaiian and other island birds and mammal species that have been destroyed.

Most of all though I think I'd like this tech to help currently living species that are on the brink, like Asian variants of African animals, make a comeback.

I agree about not reintroducing long-extinct species but I still wouldn't put them in a zoo. Let the animals rest in peace - we don't need to bring them back just to turn them into an exhibit for zoos to make more money. Something like Six Flags Great Adventure would probably be better but I still wouldn't recommend we bring back the Wooly Mammoth just for that purpose.

Putting these formerly extinct (and near extinction) creatures in zoos should only be done if there is a chance they could be released into the wild. Otherwise they basically _will_ be a circus sideshow minus the tricks and bright lights. As a human, I'd be pretty horrified if I was only brought back so people could study my behavior and gawk at me eating a bag of grapes or something.

[Eveille]

Super Fightin Prototype

Eveille

Well, dinosaurs are still off the list just because we can't bring them back yet even if we wanted to no?

Also, the pigeon didn't really go extinct that long ago, a little over a century? Certainly not comparable to the others on the list.

I think that anything over 200 years extinct would be risky to reintroduce, I don't think they'd do as much good as they might do harm to a system that has evolved beyond them already. Perhaps keep them in a zoo environment? A GOOD zoo environment, not some circus side show or personal menagerie.

Personally I'd like to see certain plant species make a come back and Hawaiian and other island birds and mammal species that have been destroyed.

Most of all though I think I'd like this tech to help currently living species that are on the brink, like Asian variants of African animals, make a comeback.

I agree about not reintroducing long-extinct species but I still wouldn't put them in a zoo. Let the animals rest in peace - we don't need to bring them back just to turn them into an exhibit for zoos to make more money. Something like Six Flags Great Adventure would probably be better but I still wouldn't recommend we bring back the Wooly Mammoth just for that purpose.

Putting these formerly extinct (and near extinction) creatures in zoos should only be done if there is a chance they could be released into the wild. Otherwise they basically _will_ be a circus sideshow minus the tricks and bright lights. As a human, I'd be pretty horrified if I was only brought back so people could study my behavior and gawk at me eating a bag of grapes or something.

Yes it would be a sad existence, but if they are going to do it anyway, I'd prefer they treat the animals as well as is possible while conducting the research on evolution and habits or whatever. And the best I can think of is a large open zoo.

I suppose if they create one of the species, or a couple of the same gender there wouldn't be much harm in releasing them and observing them that way, but it can get out of hand quickly, as proven by the simple release of a couple of pets that has turned into full on invasions of other ecosystems.

[Chibi Halo]

If they can find a way to bring back a species then they can stock up on the threatened ones and work on ways to get their numbers back to non threatened status. The thing is though if they're able to do this would they be able to reintroduce them to the wild because they'd have to hand rear them in the beginning to ensure they do survive to adulthood and after that it would be a lot of artificial insemination to make sure the adults do get pregnant and propagate more to the overall numbers. So while the species may thrive in captivity, like they're doing with condors in California, the numbers in the wild would be very low or non-existent. It would still be a very good program if proven successful to produce an extinct species like a bird or some other type of mammal.

[A mali]

Ratttking

A mali

Homing Pigeon...returns.

It never left. Passenger pigeons were Ectopistes migratorius, homing pigeons are Columba livia domestica - a domestic variety of the rock pigeon which is commonly seen eating garbage worldwide.

ERMERRGED. Got Wiki'd!. The joke didn't seem to fit with the passenger pigeon. emo
Ah well.

/flies away

[Commander Sigma]

Eveille

Yes it would be a sad existence, but if they are going to do it anyway, I'd prefer they treat the animals as well as is possible while conducting the research on evolution and habits or whatever. And the best I can think of is a large open zoo.

I suppose if they create one of the species, or a couple of the same gender there wouldn't be much harm in releasing them and observing them that way, but it can get out of hand quickly, as proven by the simple release of a couple of pets that has turned into full on invasions of other ecosystems.

Wouldn't a safari-style zoo be more open than a regular zoo? Admittedly I have not been to many zoos - the elephants were taken out of the Philadelphia Zoo due to the lack of space and that is what contributes to my belief. I cannot imagine any zoo taking care of an animal where there could be several unknowns when it comes to their behavior or how to take care of them.

That's another thing I am worried about - the invasive species aspect. Some of them might die out and we'd be back where we started but what about the ones where all their original predators are extinct? It seems too risky because then we'd have to do even MORE genetic engineering to make up for something that should never have been done to begin with.

[Eveille]

Super Fightin Prototype

Eveille

Yes it would be a sad existence, but if they are going to do it anyway, I'd prefer they treat the animals as well as is possible while conducting the research on evolution and habits or whatever. And the best I can think of is a large open zoo.

I suppose if they create one of the species, or a couple of the same gender there wouldn't be much harm in releasing them and observing them that way, but it can get out of hand quickly, as proven by the simple release of a couple of pets that has turned into full on invasions of other ecosystems.

Wouldn't a safari-style zoo be more open than a regular zoo? Admittedly I have not been to many zoos - the elephants were taken out of the Philadelphia Zoo due to the lack of space and that is what contributes to my belief. I cannot imagine any zoo taking care of an animal where there could be several unknowns when it comes to their behavior or how to take care of them.

That's another thing I am worried about - the invasive species aspect. Some of them might die out and we'd be back where we started but what about the ones where all their original predators are extinct? It seems too risky because then we'd have to do even MORE genetic engineering to make up for something that should never have been done to begin with.

I am not a zoo expert so there are probably good ones and bad ones out there, my general idea is: cage zoo/circus = bad, Smithsonian style = better. Safari style sounds very good, though I've never been to one.

As to the bold, yes. Yes is all I can say. This is the basic foundational problem with our entire species and society as a whole: fixing a social/ethical/cultural ill with technology. And fixing the issues THAT brings up with more technology and so on and so forth etc for all time. Tech can be amazing and it has done amazing things for us, but it is not, and never should have been, the go to solution for every thing, especially for large and complex unknowns.

[Keltoi Samurai]

Ringoringa

Not even for a real-life Jurassic Park? We don't have to release them into the wild! Aww, man, screw the people making these decisions, I want dinosaur zoos! I know, I know, "they could escape and wreak havoc on the ecosystem." Of course, the tigers in the zoos here could do the exact same thing, so that doesn't even work as an argument, really.

...I want a pet microraptor. gonk

I'd be up for it, if it were more like the proposed "Jurassic Park San Diego" from the second movie ( it's been too many years since I read the book to know if the motivations were similar in it ).

I mean, honestly, their original plan was to get a bunch of the smaller herbivores and one or two of the larger ones ( none of the various longnecks. in fact, the largest they captured was the single trike ), and the only reason there was the problem with the Rex in the first place was because Vince Vaughn set the captured herbivores free, and startled them into destroying the camp. and that would have been that, if Vince Vaughn hadn't then found an injured T-Rex chick ( their young are called "chicks," right? ), and brought it back to the one remaining human camp on the island, where it's parents found it, destroying that camp, and forcing both human groups to work together, which just gave Vince Vaughn a chance to pull the powder out of the hunter's rounds, which meant that when a Rex attacked the humans again, they couldn't kill it, and had to tranq it instead. seeing as they now only had a single dino tranqed, it was taken back to SD instead.

so, the moral of the story is, everything'll be fine so long as we keep Vince Vaughn at least 50 miles away from the whole endeavor at all times

[Keltoi Samurai]

no thank you

I'd love to see the Dodo Bird make a comeback. smile

man, ******** the dodo. I wanna see Great Auks! they were like penguins, but awesome