Bring Back the King

October 10, 2016
Pilcher, a British science journalist and comedian, details how scientists are using the latest advances in molecular genetics and reproductive biology to explore possibilities in the realm of de-extinction. Though de-extinction isn’t an established scientific field—at least not yet—Pilcher reveals that researchers are finding ways to re-create genomes of extinct species and figuring out how to turn such genomes into living, breathing organisms. They’re also attempting to increase the reproductive capacity of endangered species that are not yet extinct. In accessible prose, Pilcher describes many of those techniques as well as the passion of those involved in these efforts. She also explores the current technical limitations and explains why we will likely never be able to bring back extinct species of dinosaurs and the vast majority of species that have been lost. Pilcher presents an insightful discussion of the ethical and ecological reasons why it might not make sense to do so even if we could. Whether she’s dealing with wooly mammoths, peculiar Australian frogs, Neanderthals, or Elvis Presley, she asks provocative questions about both the nature of science and what it means to be human. Pilcher uses humor effectively to keep readers engaged, and there is a great deal here to entertain and educate them.

November 15, 2016
An intriguing look at the possibilities of bringing the passenger pigeon and other currently extinct species back to life.A British science writer with a doctorate in stem cell biology and a second career as a stand-up comedian, Pilcher examines the possibility of reversing the extinction of our Neanderthal cousins as well as other creatures. "Through interdisciplinary research," she writes, "it's now possible to marry the secrets of ancient DNA with cutting edge genetic technology." This is not an idle fantasy. Although we still have somewhere between 5 and 9 million species on the planet, the author quotes estimates that somewhere between 30 and 150 are becoming extinct every day. As she writes, "over 99 percent of all the species that have ever lived on Earth are no longer with us. They are extinct." Perhaps scientists could resurrect the king of dinosaurs, the Tyrannosaurus rex, from fossils, but the author reminds us that T. rex was not a fussy eater; as such, a human could become a "potential entree." An even more enticing possibility would be reacquainting ourselves with our cousins, the Neanderthals, "the undisputed King of the Cavemen." Pilcher reports that anthropologists have unraveled "the genetic secrets of the Neanderthal" from fossil remains. A first step in bringing them back to life might be to inject Neanderthal DNA "into a human egg that had...its only nuclear genome removed." Modern genetic evidence shows that they have successfully interbred with humans in the path and thus could do so again. However, in Pilcher's view, their very humanity should preclude engaging in such experimentation. The passenger pigeon is another case in point of why we can't go back in time. Would our farmers tolerate large flocks of hungry passenger pigeons? A more likely candidate for resurrection might be the northern white rhino: there are only three remaining on Earth. A unique perspective on our responsibility to preserve the chain of being of which we are only a part.

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October 15, 2016

Can science use genetic engineering to resurrect extinct species, and should it even try? Science writer Pilcher (theknick-knackatory.blogspot.com, formerly Nature) answers with delightfully comprehensible prose. Pilcher traces how scientists recover ancient DNA, map and edit genomes, and clone animals. Though the explanations feel feather-light, the nontechnical language occasionally slips into sloppiness. The author does not call the Cretaceous/Tertiary (Paleogene) Extinction by name and labels 80-million-year-old fossils Jurassic rather than Cretaceous. Digressions about her own pregnancy and Elvis kitsch add little, while the ethical arguments are sometimes inconsistent or incomplete. Pilcher mentions deextinction's possible ecological consequences but advocates disrupting an established ecosystem to transform arctic tundra into grassland. She lauds zoo veterinarian Thomas Hildebrandt for harvesting ova from rhinos yet opposes creating a similar technique for elephants. And she dismisses human cloning with a few authorities' pronouncements, even though the procedure has advocates and is not banned in the United States. This title competes with M.R. O'Connor's Resurrection Science, Ed Regis and George M. Church's Regenesis, and Beth Shapiro's How To Clone a Mammoth. VERDICT Sadly, this extremely nontechnical approach to genetic manipulation's wonders fails to stand out in a crowded field.--Eileen H. Kramer, Georgia Perimeter Coll. Lib., Clarkston

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