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Woolly mammoth 'de-extinction' is nearing reality
Scientists are getting very close to bringing a few iconic species, like woolly mammoths and dodos, back from extinction. That may not be a good thing.
For instance, Colossal Biosciences, a Texas-based biotechnology and genetic engineering company, plans to bring back three iconic extinct species: the ( Raphus cucullatus), the Tasmanian tiger( Thylacinus cynocephalus; also known as the thylacine) and the woolly mammoth( Mammuthus primigenius). The goal of de-extinction is to fill ecological niches that have stood empty since the original species disappeared, said Ronald Goderie, an ecologist and the director of the Taurus Foundation, a branch of Rewilding Europe that aims to create a substitute for extinct aurochs ( Bos primigenius). But to fulfill their ecological role — which may include increasing the albedo effect, where snow cools Earth by reflecting light back into space — mammoths would likely need to be reintroduced across the Arctic, said Vincent Lynch, an evolutionary biologist and associate professor at the University at Buffalo.
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