Scientists think they could 'de-extinct' the Christmas Island rat. But should they?

NBC ^ | March 9, 2022 | Denise Chow

[faucetman]

Why not do it to something useful like Mermaids? /s

[dinodino]

I’d prefer they brought back velociraptors...and released a herd of them into Sacramento.

[Flick Lives]

The only thing more lame than de-extincting a species of rat would be bringing back an extinct species of cockroach. Apparently, back in the Jurassic period, they were the size of a small car.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

And apparently very tasty.

[uranium penguin]

1. Dodo
2 Thylacine

[Reily]

There’s your green personal transportation solution!
A really really giant cockroach! You can call it the roach coach!

[euram]

we don’t need any more rats.

[Flick Lives]

A really really giant cockroach! You can call it the roach coach!

—

LOL!

[Abathar]

I’ve seen this movie.
It never ends well.

[mewzilla]

Gives me an idea for a movie plot...

A cross between Jurassic Park and Joe's Apartment

Funky towel, baby!!

[from occupied ga]

Yes - what we really need are more rat species. We don’t have enough agricultural and household pests. Maybe generate a few more types of cockroaches and mosquitoes too.

[from occupied ga]

How about a hybrid rat/cockroach/mosquito? Chews holes in walls hides in crevasses, carries plague, and sucks your blood while you're sleeping?

[Flick Lives]

How about a hybrid rat/cockroach/mosquito? Chews holes in walls hides in crevasses, carries plague, and sucks your blood while you’re sleeping?

—

Don’t let Fauci hear about this, he’ll start cooking it up in a bio lab.

[SunkenCiv]

Lilith Sternen-Crane's idea?

[telescope115]

They used to sell Ostrich meat years ago. Never bought any, but it sure looked lean. I remember it was expensive.

[spincaster]

Why don’t they bring something back useful, like the Velociraptor and release them in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, San Francisco, Portland, Philly. You get the picture.

[left that other site]

Just what planet earth needs...more RATS!/s

[occamrzr06]

What’s the worse that can happen? /s

This.

I'm no expect, but I think that is photoshopped.

[9422WMR]

The passenger pigeon!

[metmom]

In a study published Wednesday in the journal Current Biology, he and his colleagues examined how the Christmas Island rat could be revived, as well as the current limitations to "de-extinction." The research raises big questions about how successful de-extinction efforts can be, which types of animals should be brought back, and the ethical quandaries of tinkering with nature.

They don’t seem to have such qualms about tinkering with human genetics.