• Question: Would you be able to clone a dodo with samples of different birds

    Asked by The wonder guy(DLang?) to Annette, Dave, Jaine, Julio on 16 Nov 2016.
    • Photo: Jaine Blayney

      Jaine Blayney answered on 16 Nov 2016:

      If you can get your hands on some decent dodo DNA. And scientists think that they have, they recently discovered a dodo skeleton in Mauritius which will be a good source. Now the next question is why you would do it? Given that it will be expensive and it will take many people to work on it. Should we spend money on recreating an extinct species when many others are on the verge of extinction? Would be do any harm by bringing back this creature? The idea of it is worthy, none of us have ever seen a dodo, but is it the right thing to do? Ethics are important in science!

    • Photo: Annette Neill

      Annette Neill answered on 17 Nov 2016:

      Well in order to clone something, you need the intact DNA and then you need a cell (without its nucleus) to put the DNA into. The feeling is that the nicobar pigeon is similar genetically to the dodo so theoretically, the dodo could be recreated. Some extinct animals have been cloned but they have only lived for a few minutes…. our environment is so different now you would imagine the original species would find it hard to adapt/adjust.

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