WSC Science ChatGenePT

Jurassic Park

A series of science-fiction films directed by Stephen Spielberg during the 90's that combined the genre of science fiction with dinosaurs.

Resurrection Biology/ De-extinction

The process of bringing extinct species back to life through genetic engineering or other means.

Genetic Editing

The process of altering an organism's DNA to change its characteristics.

Jurassic World

A reboot of the Jurassic Park franchise that features genetically engineered dinosaurs with edited genetic code to make them stronger. It is considered closer to fantasy than science fiction compared to Jurassic Park.

Interspecies Cloning/ Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

A method of cloning where the DNA of an extinct species is taken and inserted into the nucleus of a living cell of a different species to create an exact genetic copy of the extinct species

Why AI carries de-extinction

It has the ability to learn the pattern of the long genetic code of an extinct species and fill the broken DNA code in much less time.

Why Multidimensional databases carry de-extinction

A type of database that is optimized for storing and querying data with multiple dimensions, allowing for efficient and fast data retrieval. Very useful when storing billions of strings of genetic code.

Criterias to determine whether a species can be practically de-extinct

Was extinct not too long ago, Nonmigratory, Mates Monogamously (with only one partner), Similarly sized to closely related living species, Newborns are self-sufficient

K-T Boundary

A geological boundary marking the end of the Cretaceous and beginning of the Paleogene periods, 66 million years ago. Dinosaurs disappeared due to meteor impact. The iridium layer at this boundary helps identify period fossils lived and supports meteor impact theory.

San Diego’s Frozen Zoo

A facility that stores genetic material from over 1000 species for research and conservation purposes.

Tasmanian tiger/ thylacine

A species of tigers that lived during the ice age with saber-like teeth, extinct in the 20th century due to habitat loss, human hunting and disease. It is the best candidate for de-extinction as only 5% of its genome is missing and the missing parts are repetitive, making it easier to fix.

Christmas Island Rat

A rat species that went extinct in 1908 and was recently tested for de-extinction by scientists Tom Gilbert and Jian-Qing Lan using DNA sequencing. It is closely related to the Norway rat and almost 5% of its genome was still missing even after sequencing, which held a lot of its defining characteristics.

Black-footed ferrets

An endangered species of ferrets in North America.

Revive & Restore

A foundation co-founded by Stewart Brand and Ryan Phelan that aims to enhance biodiversity through genetic rescue of endangered and extinct species. They fund projects related to resurrection biology.

American Chestnut

A species of trees native to the Northeastern USA that was wiped out by a fungal disease (ink disease) in the 20th century.

Pyrenean Ibex/ Bucardo

A species of ibexes that was mostly found in Western Europe, in countries such as Portugal, Andorra, Spain, and France. It went extinct in 2000 due to a lack of food and inbreeding. However, in 2009, scientists cloned the last known individual, Cecilia, but the newborn Pyrenean Ibex died due to lung problems. The project was led by Dr. Alberto Fernandez-Arias.

Wooly Mammoth

A species of ancient elephants who were alive until about 10,000 years ago, with smaller ears and brown fur, that became extinct due to climate change and mass hunting.

Extinction

The state of a species that no longer has any living members, and all members of the species have died out.

Auroch

An extinct species of cattle that are the ancestors of today's cows and used to be a key part of the Western European ecosystem.

Cecilia

The last (un-extincted) Pyrenean Ibex that died in 2000 in Portugal because a tree fell on it.

Passenger Pigeon

A species of pigeon that was once abundant in North America but became extinct in the 20th century due to commercial exploitation, overhunting, and habitat loss.

Martha

The last known passenger pigeon that died in the Cincinnati zoo in 1914.

Moa

A species of emu that lived in New Zealand that became extinct in the 15th century due to colonialist hunting.

Dodo/ Raphus Cucullatus

A species of flightless bird that lived on the island of Mauritius. Due to a lack of predators, they evolved to not run away when being hunted, leading to their extinction in 1861 when colonizers arrived on the island.

Post-Mortem Facial Reconstruction (PMFR) in the archaeological context

A technique that uses anatomical knowledge of a skull to flesh out the face of that individual or animal. This can be useful in helping us understand what extinct species might have looked like.

Post-Mortem Facial Reconstruction (PMFR) in the forensic context

A forensic method used to identify a victim by reconstructing their facial features which was created and developed by Betty Pat Gatliff and Dr. Clyde Snow. This is also known in the field as the Gatliff/ Snow American Tissue Depth Method.