Can an extinct thylacine really come back to life? Scientists are using gene editing to resurrect thylacines, and new advances have been made.
The thylacine is a carnivorous marsupial from Australia and the only top marsupial predator on the continent. Because of human hunting, as well as the invasion of alien species, it became extinct nearly a century ago. The last known thylacine died in captivity in 1936.
Scientists believe that this so-called extinct animal may re-emerge in the wild within a decade, which will give a better balance to the once troubled Australian ecosystem.
These efforts have also sparked reflection on whether high-tech solutions are necessary to bring valuable extinct animals back to life.
The thylacine appeared in Australia about 4 million years ago and was once widespread across the continent. Although they are called thylacines, they look more like tigers. They were also once known as "striped dogs" with heads like dogs and distinct markings on their hips. Thylacines have short ears and legs, a long and stiff tail, and they are about the size of american wolves.
Thylacines disappeared from much of mainland Australia around 2,000 years ago, while during the European colonial period in 1800, there were about 5,000 thylacines. But by 1920, thousands of thylacines had been slaughtered by humans, who mistakenly believed that thylacines were a threat to livestock. The last thylacine found in the wild was killed in 1930, and the last captive thylacine, nicknamed Benjamin, died at Hobart Zoo in 1936 and was later made into a specimen.
Resurrecting the thylacine has the potential to be a successful conservation case.
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