So the The Pyrenean ibex, a form of wild mountain goat,ibex was extinct. And then suddenly last week it wasn’t. But now it is extinct again. When a species goes extinct a second time, it’s time to give it up, isn’t it?:
The Pyrenean ibex, a form of wild mountain goat, was officially declared extinct in 2000 when the last-known animal of its kind was found dead in northern Spain.
Shortly before its death, scientists preserved skin samples of the goat, a subspecies of the Spanish ibex that live in mountain ranges across the country, in liquid nitrogen.
Using DNA taken from these skin samples, the scientists were able to replace the genetic material in eggs from domestic goats, to clone a female Pyrenean ibex, or bucardo as they are known. It is the first time an extinct animal has been cloned.
Sadly, the newborn ibex kid died shortly after birth due to physical defects in its lungs. Other cloned animals, including sheep, have been born with similar lung defects.
Now, I’m just wondering. Normally, I don’t think there’s a lot to be learned from Hollywood but in this case I’ll make an exception. This always ends badly. Did you guys see Jurassic Park? And here’s the thing guys, in all these movies the mad scientists usually get their comeuppance in a particularly grisly and quick manner. They’re usually usually saying things like, “Hmmm, this is strange. The anomaly has grown teeth far sharper than…what??? Oh noo. Noooooo!!” End of transmission.
And then us hero types like me have to clean the mess up with shotguns, tanks, and tasers.
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