SCIENCE
Dino DNA Drama: Should We Bring Extinct Creatures Back to Life?
Montana State University, Bozeman, USAWed Jul 02 2025
The idea of bringing back dinosaurs has always been a hot topic. The latest film in the Jurassic series shows a mutated dinosaur called D-Rex. This creature has human-like arms and a big head. It eats humans and shows that messing with dinosaur DNA is a bad idea. The movie suggests that even if we could bring back dinosaurs, we should not.
But can we even bring dinosaurs back to life? DNA is very fragile. It breaks down quickly outside of a living cell. The oldest DNA found is only 2. 4 million years old. Dinosaur fossils are much older, around 65 million years. So, bringing back dinosaurs is likely just a fun idea from movies.
However, scientists are working on bringing back other extinct species. They want to save animals that are almost gone or bring back ones that disappeared long ago. This raises an important question: Should we bring back extinct animals? Jack Horner, a paleontology professor, thinks science is about discovery. He believes we should explore without limits and deal with issues later.
But not everyone agrees. Some researchers are worried. There are no rules for bringing back extinct species. Science is moving forward without thinking about the consequences. Bringing back extinct animals could be like hitting a reset button. It could help us fix the problems that caused their extinction in the first place.
But it's not that simple. Bringing back extinct animals is very difficult. Scientists have to create the animal and figure out how to bring it into the world. They also need to find a place for it to live. In the movie, dinosaurs live on islands. In real life, the dire wolf hybrids will live in a secret preserve.
There are also ethical concerns. Animals used in experiments might suffer. Scientists try to avoid causing pain, but sometimes bad things happen. For example, a genetically modified goat died shortly after birth. There are rules to prevent bad things from happening, but sometimes they are broken.
Money is another issue. Companies might want to make money from bringing back extinct animals. In the movie, a company wants dinosaur DNA to find a cure for heart disease. Scientists are already using ancient DNA to understand diseases. But what happens when money and DNA research mix? Some people worry that companies will try to sell people's DNA.
At the end of the day, many people would love to see a dinosaur. Jack Horner says it would be fantastic. But we need to think carefully about the consequences before bringing back extinct animals.
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questions
Will the first dinosaur to be resurrected sue for wrongful extinction?
If we bring back dinosaurs, will they demand worker's compensation for their roles in theme parks?
What regulatory frameworks are necessary to prevent the misuse of genetic engineering technologies in de-extinction projects?
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