NTU Undergraduates' research April 2014 - Biosciences | Page 34

Extinction, what is it? What Are its Causes? Can it Be
Reversed? If “de-extinction” is possible, should it be
done?
Daniel T. McLellan
School of science and technology, Nottingham Trent University, Clifton campus, Clifton Lane,
Nottingham, NG11 8NS

Abstract
Extinction has been a hotly discussed topic ever since people began to understand evolution. With
extinction comes the chance for a new species to take the now extinct species place. Throughout
history extinctions have occurred, whether they be large scale ones in the form of the great mass
extinctions or on a smaller scale, like the extinction of the passenger pigeon or dodo. With 99% of the
species to have ever existed now being extinct, mostly due to natural causes such as competition for
food and space, climate change, volcanic eruptions or meteorites colliding with the earth. Since the
dawn of man however, there has been new factors to take into account when considering the
extinction of a species. There is a lot of blame that falls at our feet. In recent years, biotechnology has
improved greatly, leading to us being able to easily reconstruct the genome of a once extinct species.
With all this new technology, is it possible to bring back a species which we can be held accountable
for wiping out? And if we can should we do it? In this paper I discuss the causes for extinction, go
into detail on the 5 periods of mass extinction and discuss whether “de-extinction” can be made a
reality, and if so should we really be “playing God”?

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