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Baby Mammoth Found Intact
knoll99 writes "Scientists unveiled the discovery Wednesday of a baby mammoth found in the permafrost of north-west Siberia. The remains of the six-month-old female mammoth were discovered in a remarkable state of preservation on the Yamal peninsula of Russia in May, a Reuters report said. The specimen is believed to be the best of its kind to date."
The Jurassic Park-esque cloning talk is definitely going to be the focus of most of the discussion, but have any of the articles mentioned how well the tissues, organs, and fluids are preserved? This seems like an extraordinary chance to find hard evidence on what caused their extinction.
To be fair, the purpose isn't to "mess with nature." It's not like scientists are saying, "Let's screw up the natural order of things," right? The point of doing this, if it's even possible, would be some combination of these closely related reasons: (1) satisfying our curiosity about what these things were like, (2) giving a species a second chance to live, (3) creating something interesting that no living human has seen, and (4) profiting from building an Ice Age Park. Aren't any of those legitimate reasons?
Revive the Constitution.
The point of doing this, if it's even possible, would be some combination of these closely related reasons: (1) satisfying our curiosity about what these things were like, (2) giving a species a second chance to live, (3) creating something interesting that no living human has seen, and (4) profiting from building an Ice Age Park. Aren't any of those legitimate reasons?
It's a question of perspective. We can't possibly mess with natural order since we're part of nature. If we separate ourselves from the rest of the animals, then absolutely everything we do messes with natural order, even breathing air in and out (we're stealing oxygen that belongs to nature!).
There's a simpler guide: if we do it, would it result in a better (or neutral) situation for nature, and us, or worse?
- Artificial ingredients in food that harms us: don't do it.
- Artificial ingredients in food proven to not harm us: do it.
- Genetically engineered food: it's again a case-per-case basis, no ultimate stance.
- Revive ancient beasts: sounds like fun, what could go wrong? Are they gonna multiply overnight and take over the world?