Will the extinct ever walk the Earth again? Elizabeth Gomes
Period 1
Slide 2
Timeline of Biotechnology 1972- Recombinant DNA 1985- PCR 1990-
Jurassic Park is published 1990-2003- Human Genome Project 1996-
First successful cloning 2009- Pyrenean Ibex cloned 2010- 3D
printing is more widely available
Slide 3
DNA has a 521-year half-life Research at a university in Perth,
Australia studied animal bones that had similar preservation
conditions They claim DNA has a 521- year half-life, but there are
variations to this based on how the DNA was preserved (temperature,
presence of enzymes, in water)
Slide 4
Slide 5
Timeline of DNAs Half-life 65 million years ago- last dinosaurs
6.8 million years ago- all DNA broken down in ideal DNA
preservation conditions 1.5 million years ago- DNA is still
readable/ can be sequenced
Slide 6
Conclusion Dinosaurs and their genetic material is beyond
cloning Even if we could clone them they would have to deal with
Havent yet successfully cloned reptiles Diseases and defects cloned
animals are prone to (Lung issues are most common) Environmental
conditions they arent adapted to
Slide 7
Pyrenean Ibex Case Last Pyrenean Ibex was a female who died in
2000 Scientists collected her DNA and implanted 208 cloned fetuses
in domestic goats Only seven goats became pregnant and only one was
born, but died after 7 minutes because of lung abnormalities
Slide 8
What does the future hold? Extinct animals can and will be
cloned Not all extinct animals are candidates however Only animals
with sufficient DNA samples "Scientists believe that even cloned
animals that appear normal are likely to have subtle defects."
(Campbell 417)
Slide 9
Works Cited Campbell, Neil A., and Jane B. Reece. AP Edition
Biology. 7th ed. San Francisco: Pearson Education, 2005. Print.
Nature. MacMillan Publishers, 10 Oct. 2012. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. .
Plant Fossils of West Virginia. N.p., 21 Mar. 2009. Web. 19 Feb.
2014. . Space.com. Techmedia Network, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. .
Wired. Conde Nast, 12 July 2007. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. .