Re: Cloning prehistoric animals...

[Rrahzor <clayp@whyweb.com>]

Mike Hickman wrote:
> 
>      is no longer the question of "could we?" but "Should we?".
> 
>      Undoubtedly many of you have heard of the attempt to clone mammoth.
> I would like to you what you think about it.
> 
> -Mike (A.K.A. MegaRaptor)
> 

I don't think that it is any different in transporting a species
from one time to another (cloning an extinct species) than it
to transport a species from its native locale to a different
locale (South American parrots or African lions to North America,
or Euporean rabbits to Australia).  Sometimes such a move is
fairly neutral in effect (the parrots are good pets, most don't
impact their new locale significantly - ignoring the few species
of parrots that have established colonies, and even those haven't
yet been shown to be 'bad') - others (Australian rabbits) can be
quite bad.  Some sense has to be used as to where you will allow
them to go - but handled properly, there are many environments
that we have so far messed up that ANY additional species added
there can be considered 'bad' in an environmental light.  (Most
of our farm lands, and any other highly developed area)  This
doesn't mean to say that there wouldn't be 'bad' ecconomical
impacts - but there you can do anything you want to as long as
you are ecconomically responsible (i.e. you can pay for the
damages and reparation).  Environmentally we don't yet have
all of the knowledge and tools to be able to correct all
effects of damage and reparation (although extinct species
cloning could in itself be an important tool in this area).

Should we: yes - but not in secret, and with sufficient
controls to prevent a Jurassic Park type negative scenario.
(Not to say that I wouldn't like to see a JP done correctly
and in the proper environment).  I don't believe that
economics can be allowed to control the application and
use of such a technology.

This ignores problems with immunity.  Cloning of extinct
bacteria should be carfully monitored (like Dr. Cano's
Jurrassic Ale bacteria), in one direction.  The sensitivity
of cloned animals to modern bacteria, I don't think is as
much of a problem as many like to make it out to be.  The
'programming' of most immune responses are programmed by
responses to environmental factors, some supplied by the
parent in egg fluids or placental crossing factors.  Just
don't make it TOO sterile when doing the cloning.

-Clay Phennicie (a.k.a. Rrahzor)