Chinese researchers have created the world’s first cloned Arctic wolf — an achievement that could help save other species from extinction and ensure the biodiversity of our planet.
Why it matters: Scottish scientists proved back in 1996 that it was possible to clone a mammal using a cell from an adult animal. Possible — but not easy. Dolly the sheep was the only successful clone in their 277 attempts.
Cloning is still a challenging process — fewer than 25 animal species have been cloned to date, so the first successful cloning of a species is still newsworthy 25+ years after Dolly’s birth.
“could help save other species from extinction and ensure the biodiversity of our planet” — NO, that is not how biodiversity works — its not a bunch of widgets in a warehouse, biodiversity is about how the components interact.…simply churning out a bunch of genetically identical individuals of charismatic species is NOT going to help the collapse of the natural world — and our civilisation along with it…