Introduction
Introduction
Human activity has driven the extinction of 60 percent of Earth's birds, fish, mammals and reptiles in the last 50 years, and about 150 species continue to disappear every day. Teams of scientists are now working to revive some extinct animals, ranging from the passenger pigeon to the woolly mammoth, through genetic engineering and cloning. This biotechnology is rapidly advancing, and the field is dominated by private entities with little government oversight. Now, U.S. biotech giant Colossal Biosciences claims it will create a functional woolly mammoth by 2028. Critics say de-extinction is a waste of resources that could be spent on the urgent work of conserving existing species and worry that reintroducing extinct animals to modern habitats could put entire ecosystems at risk. But private ...
