June 9, 2017 by Bob Yirka
(Phys.org)—A group of scientists
from several institutions in Germany has suggested that extinct animals that
are resurrected through scientific means be given a tag on their name to
indicate their origins. In a Policy Forum piece in the journal Science, the
group suggests adding the tag "recr" to scientific names given to
resurrected creatures to make sure they are not confused with the original.
As technology improves,
scientists often find themselves faced with addressing overlooked
classification issues—scientific naming is no exception. As researchers develop
new methods of bringing back extinct species or improving old
techniques, the resultant organisms are very nearly copies of their extinct
ancestors. Currently, there are three main resurrection methods. The first is
back breeding, in which a species is bred over time to resemble a bygone
species. Another is cloning, in which ancient reproductive material is placed
in the uterus of a living close relative. Finally, there is genomic
engineering, in which information that is missing from samples of a target
species is filled in using DNA from a close modern relative. None of the
techniques result in creation of a creature that is an exact copy of the
original species, and that is at least partly why the authors suggest adding a
tag to their names.
The authors give examples of how
the new tag could be used, changing Mammuthus columbi to Mammuthus recr.
columbi, for example. In some cases, if the new species is not a close copy of
the original, the group suggests that a new species name be
given, such as Mammuthus recr. Americanus.
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