3 ms·

But why? Introducing once extinct species would disrupt the existing ecological balance and the conditions that made them extinct to begin with would continue t

But why? Introducing once extinct species would disrupt the existing ecological balance and the conditions that made them extinct to begin with would continue to persist and they would simply go extinct again.

TheParkShark 5y ago
The ones they’re trying it on aren’t fully extinct yet. Only the male line is, two females are alive. It can also lead to science that could possibly help bee’s, fish, bugs, and countless other life forms that we’re about to wipe out.
trainsplanes 5y ago
I think it's good technology to have just in case. For example, if humanity does something dumb that accidentally makes bees or whales go extinct, having an undo to bring back keystone species that entire ecosystems depend on is pretty nice.
- giantg2 5y ago
  Except it's likely the cause of the extinction will still be present and make reintroduction nearly impossible.
abraae 5y ago
You're assuming there is ecological balance In my country, idiotic victorians introduced several predator species (stoats, weasels etc.) back around the turn of the last century - a mere blink of the eye ago in ecological time. Since then, these species are steadily killing off our native birds species. Balance has not yet been reached, if by that we mean the extinction of those remaining species. Many very committed people work very hard on removing the introduced predators, and restoring the conditions that allowed the native species to thrive. I think we'll win, because technology.
mullingitover 5y ago
> Introducing once extinct species would disrupt the existing ecological balance and the conditions that made them extinct to begin with would continue to persist and they would simply go extinct again. It is a little aggressive, but I like the case you imply for using CRISPR gene drives to wipe out invasive species. Just getting rats out of New Zealand would be a tremendous win.

TheParkShark 5y ago

The ones they’re trying it on aren’t fully extinct yet. Only the male line is, two females are alive. It can also lead to science that could possibly help bee’s, fish, bugs, and countless other life forms that we’re about to wipe out.

trainsplanes 5y ago

I think it's good technology to have just in case. For example, if humanity does something dumb that accidentally makes bees or whales go extinct, having an undo to bring back keystone species that entire ecosystems depend on is pretty nice.

giantg2 5y ago
Except it's likely the cause of the extinction will still be present and make reintroduction nearly impossible.

abraae 5y ago

You're assuming there is ecological balance In my country, idiotic victorians introduced several predator species (stoats, weasels etc.) back around the turn of the last century - a mere blink of the eye ago in ecological time. Since then, these species are steadily killing off our native birds species. Balance has not yet been reached, if by that we mean the extinction of those remaining species. Many very committed people work very hard on removing the introduced predators, and restoring the conditions that allowed the native species to thrive. I think we'll win, because technology.

mullingitover 5y ago

> Introducing once extinct species would disrupt the existing ecological balance and the conditions that made them extinct to begin with would continue to persist and they would simply go extinct again. It is a little aggressive, but I like the case you imply for using CRISPR gene drives to wipe out invasive species. Just getting rats out of New Zealand would be a tremendous win.