Scientists can bring back extinct animals

Question

https://news.sky.com/story/scientists-claim-breakthrough-to-bringing-back-tasmanian-tiger-from-extinction-13234815

This source is listed as the evidence for the claim that scientists have the ability to reintroduce extinct species into today's world.

Taking a deeper dive into the validity of this source, we see that it was posted by Tom Clarke, a 'science and technology editor'. Sky News is a news company based in the UK and was created in 2018.

 Tom specifically states that, "scientists claim to have made progress towards "de-extinction" and estimate their DNA sequence for the thylacine - or Tasmanian tiger - is 99.9% accurate."

Tom sites a source from Collosal Biosciences, based in Dallas, which have spoken previously about bringing back other species, including the Wooly Mammoth and the Dodo Bird.

Tom even includes a rebuttal section, in which he references that there are scientists who believe the notion of reintroducing extinct species is futile due to its technical difficulty.

To further fact check this claim, I took a look at some other sources of information relating to the claim. I found this site, https://www.labiotech.eu/in-depth/crispr-de-extinction-to-bring-back-animals/ which asks the same question, but specifically includes the gene editing technology CRISPR in their claim.

I believe this claim to be valid, considering that the words were lifted from scientists who have both reputable and credible data that supports the claim. In addition, the claim is even more valid because it does not state that reviving this species is guaranteed, but rather that it is just possible. This claim can also be found in other reputable places, such as the Labiotech source referenced above.

Comments

This fact check is very in depth and provides helpful information regarding your claim. I am unsure if sky news is a trustworthy source however your claim seems well thought out.

Answer 1

As "extinct animals" comprise a ginormous array of species with varying progress in scientific revival efforts, I narrowed my investigation to one species that you listed: the Tasmanian tiger.

Although Snopes, a reputable fact-checking website, has instances of debunking Sky News' content, Tom Clark's article is factual. A CBBC article reiterated Colossal Biosciences' 99.9% confidence estimate for Tasmanian DNA reproduction and its collaboration with Australian scientists from Melbourne University to recreate the species. CBBC is a broadcast television channel owned by the BBC (a News Detective-approved source) whose content markets to audiences aged six to twelve. The CBBC article is listed below.

Additionally, which searched, the same information that Clarke cited is featured in several recent news articles, making Colossal's and Melbourne University's activity fairly legitimate.

Comments

I appreciate that you brought the reputation of Sky News into question, as that was my first concern. While the claim may have validity, I would have liked to see a government-backed site confirming this, as CBBC and other news articles could be misleading. Nonetheless, the claim seems to be truthful that Colossal Biosciences is attempting to bring back multiple extinct animals, and it will be interesting to see if that comes to fruition