Podcasts & webinars (recordings)

Fancy Scientist Podcast #126: The Science and Ethics of De-extinction: The Case of the Dire Wolf

Chances are, you’ve seen the headlines that the dire wolf is no longer extinct. The company Colossal Biosciences claims to have brought it back from extinction in the form of three living, breathing dire wolf pups. But my headlines have actually been flooded with scientists saying “not so fast…”
Go to the profile of Stephanie Manka (formerly Schuttler)
Stephanie Manka (formerly Schuttler)
Wildlife Biologist and Science Communicator, Fancy Scientist LLC
Fancy Scientist Podcast #126: The Science and Ethics of De-extinction: The Case of the Dire Wolf
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Having studied African forest elephants using genetics during my Ph.D., a species related to the extinct woolly mammoth and a target of de-extinction efforts, this topic has long been on my mind to discuss on the podcast!

"If you took a chimpanzee and made edits on 20 genes, do you think you would get a human?"

Given the recent dire wolf news, I’ve been getting so many questions about this, that I thought it would be a great time to discuss this and prepared this podcast episode as soon as I could (despite a myriad of technical difficulties).

De-extinction is the concept of bringing back a fully extinct species back to life and as you’ve seen now as evidenced from the dire wolves, scientists are actively working on it. But should they be? And why?

"Resurrecting an ancient species is like buying a jigsaw puzzle from a garage sale...There's going to be pieces missing pieces and you don't even have a picture on the box, to follow"

First, I break down the dire wolf headlines, offering insight into the scientific process of de-extinction as a whole, how the team at Colossal Biosciences approached de-extinction and why, and how most scientists feel about their result: Are these really dire wolves?
Deextinction
I then open up to a larger conversation about de-extinction: why are scientists attempting to de-extinct species at all? Is there conservation merit in doing so? Which species are being considered? I address a plethora of topics as well as moral and ethical considerations.

 If an Asian elephant is raising a woolly mammoth calf, is it actually going to behave like a wooly mammoth?...There's more that goes into a species than just having the DNA.

Specifically, I go over:

  • What exactly is de-extinction and how it can be done
  • Why de-extinction is so hard to actually do
  • How Colossal Biosciences resurrected what they are calling the dire wolf
  • What scientists think of Colossal’s dire wolves; are they really dire wolves? Why or why not?
  • Insights on how scientists think about species in general
  • What else goes into a species being a species aside from genetics
  • What is the point of de-extinction? Why should scientists attempt it?
  • Which kinds of species are being considered
  • My opinions on de-extinction: which species are okay to bring back and why
  • Does de-extinction help conservation? How?
  • How de-extinction can hurt conservation efforts
  • How the Trump administration is attempting to use de-extinction efforts to undermine the Endangered Species Act
  • And more!

https://stephanieschuttler.com/126-de-extinction/

Go to the profile of Stephanie Manka (formerly Schuttler)
Stephanie Manka (formerly Schuttler) (She/Her)
Wildlife Biologist and Science Communicator, Fancy Scientist LLC

I am a wildlife biologist and science communicator. My research lays at the intersection of mammal ecology, citizen science, and education. I founded and run FancyScientist.com, a site dedicated to connecting people to science and nature, breaking stereotypes of scientists, and empowering scientists. If you’re a scientist or scientist-to-be, you’ll find lots of resources to guide you through this career.

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