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Bits of Tassie Tiger Brought Back from Extinction

Posted by timothy on from the not-much-to-look-at-yet dept.

zerobeat writes "Scientists from Melbourne, Australia have managed to resurrect the gene responsible for the development of cartilage and bone from the now extinct Tasmanian Tiger. The gene was expressed in a mouse embryo so the full reincarnation of a full Tassie Tiger is a long way off. You can listen to an MP3 of ABC Australia's Robyn Williams discussing the results with the lead scientists. This is the first time DNA from an extinct species has been made to live again in a live animal."

3 of 197 comments (clear)

  1. Re:A unix system! by Major+Blud · · Score: 3, Informative

    Um, no. The system was actually running SGI 3D Navigator. Check out the Wikipedia entry on SGI.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Graphics

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  2. Re:Eeek! by arivanov · · Score: 3, Informative

    In that case why don't they bloody bring something useful like the Steller Cow. While trying to bring back the some of the native Australian species is a great achievement none of them would have the direct economic impact of having a sustainable see grazer capable of living in cold water.

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  3. Don't believe the Wiki! by Lucid_Loki · · Score: 3, Informative
    Only nuts say they've seen one. I think last reported 'sighting' was c. 1970s. Various expeditions have turned up nothing.

    Southwest Tasmania though is home to one of the largest protected wilderness sites on Earth and it's possible that a small population has survived. Highly doubtful though.

    If we brought some back there would theoretically be an ecosystem for them. However that ecosystem has evolved 80 years without them. Reintroduction could be very harmful.

    A nice oddity in a large zoo enclosure and a triumph for marsupial DNA manipulation. That's about all you'd get from this.