Written by Vedika Pathania, a second-year student.

According to a recent UN report, one million species are at risk of extinction due to human pressures within the next few decades. Climate change, human exploitation, habitat degradation, and natural disasters are all wreaking havoc on the world’s ecosystems.

Although species come and go over time, research suggests that species are vanishing at a rate not seen since the dinosaurs became extinct about 60 million years ago.

Every year, between one and five species, become extinct under normal circumstances. However, a recent study found that the rate of loss is increasing, with several people perishing every day. Half of all Earth’s species could be extinct by the year 2100, with up to one million plant and animal species in jeopardy.

For the first time, modern technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), data analysis, and digital memory may be able to assist humans in achieving a hitherto impossible feat: “de-extinction,” or the resurrection of extinct species. However, in order to make this fantasy a reality, scientists will need better equipment, more data, more computing power, and more time.

Researchers at the San Diego Zoo, on the other hand, are fighting back with the Frozen Zoo. As bizarre as it may sound, in 1972, they started collecting tissue samples from unusual species. The cells have been stored in the team’s cryobank in the hopes of one day being able to use them to conserve and resurrect endangered animals.

Dr. Ryder, the director of conservation genetics at the San Diego Wildlife Biodiversity Bank, popularly known as the Frozen Zoo, and others are working on techniques that could theoretically allow for the creation of a live birth long after the species’ final individuals have perished.

Today, the San Diego Wildlife Biodiversity Bank’s frozen collection has over 10,000 cell lines from over 1,100 vertebrate species and subspecies, as well as uncultured tissue and blood samples. Whether or not it is conceivable to resurrect extinct species in the next years, biobanks like this can currently be utilised to boost genetic diversity in endangered species.

San Diego Zoo is not the only one in the race. Last year, a Mongolian wild horse was cloned at a facility in Texas and recently scientists cloned a black-footed ferret that died over 30 years ago. The concept that we might be able to not only save dying species but also bring animals back from the brink of extinction has long piqued the interest of environmentalists, who have fought a lost battle to reverse the impacts of human activity on animal life for decades.

Summary

• Half of all Earth’s species could be extinct by the year 2100, with up to one million plant and animal species in jeopardy.
• Researchers at the San Diego Zoo started collecting tissue samples from unusual species. The cells have been stored in the team’s cryobank in the hopes of one day being able to use them to conserve and resurrect endangered animals.
• Today, the San Diego Wildlife Biodiversity Bank’s frozen collection has over 10,000 cell lines from over 1,100 vertebrate species and subspecies
• biobanks like this can currently be utilised to boost genetic diversity in endangered species.
• Last year, a Mongolian wild horse was cloned at a facility in Texas and recently scientists cloned a black-footed ferret that died over 30 years ago.

---

You May Also Like
Fun Facts About Cricket
Facts About Lions
Smallest Dogs in 2022

---

Want to write for us? Submit your story here. You can also apply to become a news anchor. Apply here