Researchers from the Univ. of Melbourne, in collaboration with researchers from the Univ. of Texas, have extracted genes from an extinct animal, inserted them into a mouse, and observed biological function. The genes came from the extinct Tasmanian tiger (thylacine), and this is the first time that genes from an extinct organism have induced a functional response in a living organism.
The last known thylacine died in 1936, but several tissue samples were preserved in alcohol in museum collections around the world. In this case, the research team isolated DNA from 100-year-old specimens and inserted them into mouse embryos so they could observe its function. This is significant, because up until now, researchers could only observe gene sequences from extinct organisms, while this research makes it possible to examine gene function in a whole organism.
This research has potential including new biomedicines, according to researchers. It also raises the possibility of resurrecting extinct species. Although that was not the aim of this research, some scientists still think it's possible in the near future. I wouldn't buy tickets to Jurassic Park just yet though, as there is a huge gap between merely observing biological function in a living organism and recreating an entire species. But it's exciting to think that maybe one day Australia will see the return of an animal that was hunted to extinction.
