It has been almost 100 years since the very last marsupial died in captivity on the island of Tasmania off the coast of Australia. Now a large research project wants to recreate the extinct animal with the help of genetic engineering.
By taking a cell from the marsupial’s closest living relative – a fat-tailed marsupial – and then changing it into a marsupial cell, the researchers hope to recreate the extinct animal.
“Doomed to fail”
A complicated and expensive process, doomed to failure according to Tom Gilbert, professor at the University of Copenhagen:
– It won’t work. They should instead spend the money on saving the animals that are dying out right now.
See pictures of the extinct animal and hear the professor – in the feature above