[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.95,0:00:06.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, extinction is a different kind of death.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.01,0:00:08.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's bigger.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.64,0:00:11.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We didn't really realize that until 1914,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.72,0:00:14.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when the last passenger pigeon, a female named Martha,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.93,0:00:17.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,died at the Cincinnati zoo.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.95,0:00:21.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This had been the most abundant bird in the world
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.49,0:00:25.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that'd been in North America for six million years.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.10,0:00:28.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Suddenly it wasn't here at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.40,0:00:32.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Flocks that were a mile wide and 400 miles long
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.48,0:00:35.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,used to darken the sun.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.12,0:00:38.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aldo Leopold said this was a biological storm,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.20,0:00:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a feathered tempest.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.00,0:00:43.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And indeed it was a keystone species
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.44,0:00:47.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that enriched the entire eastern deciduous forest,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.46,0:00:49.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the Mississippi to the Atlantic,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.74,0:00:53.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from Canada down to the Gulf.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.06,0:00:56.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it went from five billion birds to zero in just a couple decades.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.37,0:00:57.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What happened?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.57,0:00:59.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, commercial hunting happened.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.72,0:01:03.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These birds were hunted for meat that was sold by the ton,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.68,0:01:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it was easy to do because when those big flocks
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.00,0:01:08.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,came down to the ground, they were so dense
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.28,0:01:10.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that hundreds of hunters and netters could show up
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.64,0:01:13.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and slaughter them by the tens of thousands.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.65,0:01:16.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was the cheapest source of protein in America.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.67,0:01:18.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By the end of the century, there was nothing left
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.64,0:01:23.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but these beautiful skins in museum specimen drawers.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.48,0:01:25.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's an upside to the story.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.36,0:01:27.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This made people realize that the same thing
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.27,0:01:29.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was about to happen to the American bison,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.76,0:01:33.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so these birds saved the buffalos.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.17,0:01:34.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But a lot of other animals weren't saved.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.84,0:01:39.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Carolina parakeet was a parrot that lit up backyards everywhere.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.63,0:01:41.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was hunted to death for its feathers.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.98,0:01:45.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was a bird that people liked on the East Coast called the heath hen.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.08,0:01:48.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was loved. They tried to protect it. It died anyway.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.09,0:01:51.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A local newspaper spelled out, "There is no survivor,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.46,0:01:56.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there is no future, there is no life to be recreated in this form ever again."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.28,0:01:58.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's a sense of deep tragedy that goes with these things,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.95,0:02:01.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it happened to lots of birds that people loved.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.38,0:02:03.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It happened to lots of mammals.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.59,0:02:06.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Another keystone species is a famous animal
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.21,0:02:08.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,called the European aurochs.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.27,0:02:10.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was sort of a movie made about it recently.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.73,0:02:13.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the aurochs was like the bison.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.34,0:02:16.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was an animal that basically kept the forest
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.52,0:02:21.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mixed with grasslands across the entire Europe and Asian continent,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.57,0:02:23.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from Spain to Korea.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.91,0:02:26.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The documentation of this animal goes back
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.04,0:02:29.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the Lascaux cave paintings.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.27,0:02:31.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The extinctions still go on.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.46,0:02:34.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's an ibex in Spain called the bucardo.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.49,0:02:36.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It went extinct in 2000.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.83,0:02:39.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was a marvelous animal, a marsupial wolf
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.59,0:02:43.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,called the thylacine in Tasmania, south of Australia,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.32,0:02:45.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,called the Tasmanian tiger.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.39,0:02:49.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was hunted until there were just a few left to die in zoos.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.71,0:02:52.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A little bit of film was shot.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.59,0:03:08.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sorrow, anger, mourning.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.85,0:03:12.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Don't mourn. Organize.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.01,0:03:15.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What if you could find out that, using the DNA in museum specimens,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.62,0:03:18.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,fossils maybe up to 200,000 years old
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.62,0:03:21.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,could be used to bring species back,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.06,0:03:22.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what would you do? Where would you start?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.68,0:03:25.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, you'd start by finding out if the biotech is really there.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.60,0:03:27.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I started with my wife, Ryan Phelan,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.69,0:03:30.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who ran a biotech business called DNA Direct,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.82,0:03:34.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and through her, one of her colleagues, George Church,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.87,0:03:37.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of the leading genetic engineers
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.57,0:03:40.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who turned out to be also obsessed with passenger pigeons
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.58,0:03:42.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a lot of confidence
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.19,0:03:44.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that methodologies he was working on
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.50,0:03:46.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,might actually do the deed.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.59,0:03:49.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So he and Ryan organized and hosted a meeting
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.84,0:03:52.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the Wyss Institute in Harvard bringing together
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.11,0:03:56.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,specialists on passenger pigeons, conservation ornithologists, bioethicists,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.72,0:04:00.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and fortunately passenger pigeon DNA had already been sequenced
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.83,0:04:04.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by a molecular biologist named Beth Shapiro.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.12,0:04:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All she needed from those specimens at the Smithsonian
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.00,0:04:09.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was a little bit of toe pad tissue,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.66,0:04:13.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because down in there is what is called ancient DNA.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.04,0:04:16.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's DNA which is pretty badly fragmented,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.01,0:04:20.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but with good techniques now, you can basically reassemble the whole genome.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.90,0:04:23.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then the question is, can you reassemble,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.22,0:04:25.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with that genome, the whole bird?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.72,0:04:28.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,George Church thinks you can.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.22,0:04:31.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So in his book, "Regenesis," which I recommend,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.29,0:04:34.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he has a chapter on the science of bringing back extinct species,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.75,0:04:36.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he has a machine called
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.29,0:04:39.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Multiplex Automated Genome Engineering machine.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.74,0:04:41.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's kind of like an evolution machine.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.47,0:04:44.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You try combinations of genes that you write
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.18,0:04:47.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the cell level and then in organs on a chip,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.42,0:04:49.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the ones that win, that you can then put
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.32,0:04:52.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into a living organism. It'll work.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.02,0:04:55.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The precision of this, one of George's famous unreadable slides,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.22,0:04:59.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,nevertheless points out that there's a level of precision here
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.82,0:05:02.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,right down to the individual base pair.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.38,0:05:06.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The passenger pigeon has 1.3 billion base pairs in its genome.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.52,0:05:09.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what you're getting is the capability now
Dialogue: 0,0:05:09.52,0:05:13.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of replacing one gene with another variation of that gene.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.05,0:05:14.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's called an allele.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.95,0:05:17.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well that's what happens in normal hybridization anyway.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.80,0:05:20.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this is a form of synthetic hybridization of the genome
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.99,0:05:22.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of an extinct species
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.87,0:05:26.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the genome of its closest living relative.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.40,0:05:29.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now along the way, George points out that
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.12,0:05:32.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,his technology, the technology of synthetic biology,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.93,0:05:36.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is currently accelerating at four times the rate of Moore's Law.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.74,0:05:41.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's been doing that since 2005, and it's likely to continue.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.02,0:05:43.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay, the closest living relative of the passenger pigeon
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.73,0:05:47.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the band-tailed pigeon. They're abundant. There's some around here.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.02,0:05:51.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Genetically, the band-tailed pigeon already is
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.11,0:05:53.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mostly living passenger pigeon.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:53.48,0:05:55.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's just some bits that are band-tailed pigeon.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.91,0:05:58.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you replace those bits with passenger pigeon bits,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.66,0:06:02.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you've got the extinct bird back, cooing at you.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.87,0:06:04.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, there's work to do.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.78,0:06:07.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You have to figure out exactly what genes matter.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.49,0:06:10.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So there's genes for the short tail in the band-tailed pigeon,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.14,0:06:12.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,genes for the long tail in the passenger pigeon,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.84,0:06:16.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so on with the red eye, peach-colored breast, flocking, and so on.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.39,0:06:19.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Add them all up and the result won't be perfect.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.26,0:06:21.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it should be be perfect enough,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.24,0:06:23.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because nature doesn't do perfect either.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.89,0:06:28.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this meeting in Boston led to three things.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:28.06,0:06:31.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,First off, Ryan and I decided to create a nonprofit
Dialogue: 0,0:06:31.61,0:06:35.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,called Revive and Restore that would push de-extinction generally
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.26,0:06:38.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and try to have it go in a responsible way,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.42,0:06:41.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we would push ahead with the passenger pigeon.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.70,0:06:45.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Another direct result was a young grad student named Ben Novak,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.77,0:06:49.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who had been obsessed with passenger pigeons since he was 14
Dialogue: 0,0:06:49.02,0:06:52.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and had also learned how to work with ancient DNA,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:52.09,0:06:55.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,himself sequenced the passenger pigeon,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.40,0:06:58.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,using money from his family and friends.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.01,0:07:00.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We hired him full-time.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.16,0:07:03.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, this photograph I took of him last year at the Smithsonian,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:03.82,0:07:06.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he's looking down at Martha,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.06,0:07:08.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the last passenger pigeon alive.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:08.84,0:07:11.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So if he's successful, she won't be the last.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:11.58,0:07:14.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The third result of the Boston meeting was the realization
Dialogue: 0,0:07:14.46,0:07:16.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that there are scientists all over the world
Dialogue: 0,0:07:16.29,0:07:18.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,working on various forms of de-extinction,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:18.26,0:07:20.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they'd never met each other.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:20.08,0:07:22.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And National Geographic got interested
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.06,0:07:24.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because National Geographic has the theory that
Dialogue: 0,0:07:24.55,0:07:27.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the last century, discovery was basically finding things,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:27.92,0:07:31.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in this century, discovery is basically making things.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.100,0:07:33.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,De-extinction falls in that category.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.82,0:07:37.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So they hosted and funded this meeting. And 35 scientists,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.65,0:07:40.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they were conservation biologists and molecular biologists,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:40.93,0:07:44.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,basically meeting to see if they had work to do together.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:44.35,0:07:46.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some of these conservation biologists are pretty radical.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.72,0:07:50.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's three of them who are not just re-creating ancient species,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.28,0:07:53.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they're recreating extinct ecosystems
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.40,0:07:57.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in northern Siberia, in the Netherlands, and in Hawaii.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.27,0:07:59.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Henri, from the Netherlands,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:59.54,0:08:02.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with a Dutch last name I won't try to pronounce,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.23,0:08:04.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is working on the aurochs.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:04.48,0:08:08.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The aurochs is the ancestor of all domestic cattle,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.83,0:08:14.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so basically its genome is alive, it's just unevenly distributed.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:14.40,0:08:16.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what they're doing is working with seven breeds
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.82,0:08:21.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of primitive, hardy-looking cattle like that Maremmana primitivo on the top there
Dialogue: 0,0:08:21.57,0:08:25.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to rebuild, over time, with selective back-breeding,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.04,0:08:27.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the aurochs.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:27.10,0:08:30.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, re-wilding is moving faster in Korea
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.14,0:08:31.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than it is in America,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:31.99,0:08:35.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so the plan is, with these re-wilded areas all over Europe,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:35.65,0:08:38.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they will introduce the aurochs to do its old job,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.86,0:08:40.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,its old ecological role,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:40.80,0:08:44.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of clearing the somewhat barren, closed-canopy forest
Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.06,0:08:47.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that it has these biodiverse meadows in it.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:47.87,0:08:49.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Another amazing story
Dialogue: 0,0:08:49.69,0:08:53.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,came from Alberto Fernández-Arias.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:53.09,0:08:56.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alberto worked with the bucardo in Spain.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:56.41,0:08:59.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The last bucardo was a female named Celia
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.24,0:09:03.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who was still alive, but then they captured her,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.80,0:09:06.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they got a little bit of tissue from her ear,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:06.21,0:09:09.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they cryopreserved it in liquid nitrogen,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.40,0:09:11.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,released her back into the wild,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:11.18,0:09:14.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but a few months later, she was found dead under a fallen tree.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:14.93,0:09:17.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They took the DNA from that ear,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:17.54,0:09:20.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they planted it as a cloned egg in a goat,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:20.98,0:09:23.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the pregnancy came to term,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:23.06,0:09:25.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a live baby bucardo was born.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.27,0:09:28.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was the first de-extinction in history.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:28.12,0:09:31.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:09:31.66,0:09:32.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was short-lived.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:32.89,0:09:36.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sometimes interspecies clones have respiration problems.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:36.53,0:09:39.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This one had a malformed lung and died after 10 minutes,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:39.57,0:09:42.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but Alberto was confident that
Dialogue: 0,0:09:42.65,0:09:45.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cloning has moved along well since then,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:45.05,0:09:46.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this will move ahead, and eventually
Dialogue: 0,0:09:46.59,0:09:48.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there will be a population of bucardos
Dialogue: 0,0:09:48.59,0:09:51.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,back in the mountains in northern Spain.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:51.85,0:09:55.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Cryopreservation pioneer of great depth is Oliver Ryder.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:55.68,0:09:58.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At the San Diego zoo, his frozen zoo
Dialogue: 0,0:09:58.06,0:10:02.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has collected the tissues from over 1,000 species
Dialogue: 0,0:10:02.02,0:10:04.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,over the last 35 years.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:04.99,0:10:07.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, when it's frozen that deep,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:07.02,0:10:09.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,minus 196 degrees Celsius,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:09.74,0:10:12.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the cells are intact and the DNA is intact.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:12.38,0:10:14.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're basically viable cells,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:14.45,0:10:18.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so someone like Bob Lanza at Advanced Cell Technology
Dialogue: 0,0:10:18.08,0:10:21.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,took some of that tissue from an endangered animal
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.30,0:10:23.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,called the Javan banteng, put it in a cow,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:23.49,0:10:26.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the cow went to term, and what was born
Dialogue: 0,0:10:26.54,0:10:31.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was a live, healthy baby Javan banteng,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:31.62,0:10:35.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who thrived and is still alive.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.02,0:10:37.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The most exciting thing for Bob Lanza
Dialogue: 0,0:10:37.80,0:10:40.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the ability now to take any kind of cell
Dialogue: 0,0:10:40.49,0:10:42.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with induced pluripotent stem cells
Dialogue: 0,0:10:42.94,0:10:46.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and turn it into germ cells, like sperm and eggs.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:46.91,0:10:49.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So now we go to Mike McGrew
Dialogue: 0,0:10:49.19,0:10:52.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who is a scientist at Roslin Institute in Scotland,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:52.69,0:10:54.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Mike's doing miracles with birds.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:54.99,0:10:58.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So he'll take, say, falcon skin cells, fibroblast,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:58.51,0:11:01.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,turn it into induced pluripotent stem cells.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:01.30,0:11:04.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Since it's so pluripotent, it can become germ plasm.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:04.73,0:11:06.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He then has a way to put the germ plasm
Dialogue: 0,0:11:06.99,0:11:10.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into the embryo of a chicken egg
Dialogue: 0,0:11:10.53,0:11:13.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that that chicken will have, basically,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:13.80,0:11:15.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the gonads of a falcon.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:15.64,0:11:17.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You get a male and a female each of those,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:17.56,0:11:20.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and out of them comes falcons.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:20.50,0:11:22.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:11:22.46,0:11:27.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Real falcons out of slightly doctored chickens.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:27.58,0:11:30.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ben Novak was the youngest scientist at the meeting.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:30.06,0:11:32.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He showed how all of this can be put together.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:32.49,0:11:35.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The sequence of events: he'll put together the genomes
Dialogue: 0,0:11:35.03,0:11:37.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the band-tailed pigeon and the passenger pigeon,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:37.41,0:11:40.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he'll take the techniques of George Church
Dialogue: 0,0:11:40.36,0:11:42.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and get passenger pigeon DNA,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:42.64,0:11:45.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the techniques of Robert Lanza and Michael McGrew,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:45.33,0:11:47.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,get that DNA into chicken gonads,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:47.59,0:11:51.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and out of the chicken gonads get passenger pigeon eggs, squabs,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:51.80,0:11:55.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and now you're getting a population of passenger pigeons.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:55.29,0:11:57.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It does raise the question of,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:57.24,0:11:59.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they're not going to have passenger pigeon parents
Dialogue: 0,0:11:59.21,0:12:01.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to teach them how to be a passenger pigeon.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:01.83,0:12:04.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what do you do about that?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:04.09,0:12:06.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well birds are pretty hard-wired, as it happens,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:06.76,0:12:09.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so most of that is already in their DNA,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:09.13,0:12:11.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but to supplement it, part of Ben's idea
Dialogue: 0,0:12:11.91,0:12:13.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is to use homing pigeons
Dialogue: 0,0:12:13.57,0:12:16.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to help train the young passenger pigeons how to flock
Dialogue: 0,0:12:16.74,0:12:19.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how to find their way to their old nesting grounds
Dialogue: 0,0:12:19.47,0:12:22.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and feeding grounds.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:22.62,0:12:24.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There were some conservationists,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:24.26,0:12:27.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,really famous conservationists like Stanley Temple,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:27.34,0:12:29.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who is one of the founders of conservation biology,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:29.95,0:12:34.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Kate Jones from the IUCN, which does the Red List.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:34.61,0:12:36.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're excited about all this,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:36.57,0:12:39.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they're also concerned that it might be competitive
Dialogue: 0,0:12:39.07,0:12:42.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the extremely important efforts to protect
Dialogue: 0,0:12:42.11,0:12:44.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,endangered species that are still alive,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:44.32,0:12:46.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that haven't gone extinct yet.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:46.17,0:12:48.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You see, you want to work on protecting the animals out there.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:48.54,0:12:52.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You want to work on getting the market for ivory in Asia down
Dialogue: 0,0:12:52.77,0:12:56.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so you're not using 25,000 elephants a year.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:56.65,0:12:59.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But at the same time, conservation biologists are realizing
Dialogue: 0,0:12:59.70,0:13:02.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that bad news bums people out.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:02.28,0:13:05.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so the Red List is really important, keep track of
Dialogue: 0,0:13:05.01,0:13:08.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what's endangered and critically endangered, and so on.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:08.33,0:13:11.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they're about to create what they call a Green List,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:11.36,0:13:15.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the Green List will have species that are doing fine, thank you,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:15.74,0:13:18.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,species that were endangered, like the bald eagle,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:18.04,0:13:21.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they're much better off now, thanks to everybody's good work,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:21.66,0:13:23.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and protected areas around the world
Dialogue: 0,0:13:23.82,0:13:25.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are very, very well managed.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:25.58,0:13:29.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So basically, they're learning how to build on good news.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:29.69,0:13:32.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they see reviving extinct species
Dialogue: 0,0:13:32.80,0:13:35.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as the kind of good news you might be able to build on.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:35.68,0:13:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here's a couple related examples.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:39.00,0:13:42.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Captive breeding will be a major part of bringing back these species.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:42.21,0:13:45.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The California condor was down to 22 birds in 1987.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:45.63,0:13:47.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Everybody thought is was finished.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:47.34,0:13:50.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thanks to captive breeding at the San Diego Zoo,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:50.16,0:13:54.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there's 405 of them now, 226 are out in the wild.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:54.18,0:13:58.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That technology will be used on de-extincted animals.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:58.39,0:14:01.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Another success story is the mountain gorilla in Central Africa.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:01.85,0:14:05.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1981, Dian Fossey was sure they were going extinct.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:05.24,0:14:07.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There were just 254 left.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:07.27,0:14:10.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now there are 880. They're increasing in population
Dialogue: 0,0:14:10.81,0:14:12.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by three percent a year.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:12.90,0:14:16.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The secret is, they have an eco-tourism program,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:16.29,0:14:17.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is absolutely brilliant.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:17.96,0:14:20.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this photograph was taken last month by Ryan
Dialogue: 0,0:14:20.60,0:14:23.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with an iPhone.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:23.37,0:14:27.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's how comfortable these wild gorillas are with visitors.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:27.69,0:14:31.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Another interesting project, though it's going to need some help,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:31.42,0:14:33.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the northern white rhinoceros.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:33.33,0:14:35.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's no breeding pairs left.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:35.30,0:14:37.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But this is the kind of thing that
Dialogue: 0,0:14:37.46,0:14:41.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a wide variety of DNA for this animal is available in the frozen zoo.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:41.60,0:14:44.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A bit of cloning, you can get them back.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:44.40,0:14:46.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So where do we go from here?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:46.59,0:14:48.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These have been private meetings so far.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:48.25,0:14:50.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think it's time for the subject to go public.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:50.91,0:14:52.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What do people think about it?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:52.38,0:14:54.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know, do you want extinct species back?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:54.46,0:14:57.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Do you want extinct species back?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:57.31,0:15:02.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:15:02.58,0:15:05.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tinker Bell is going to come fluttering down.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:05.07,0:15:06.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is a Tinker Bell moment,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:06.28,0:15:08.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because what are people excited about with this?
Dialogue: 0,0:15:08.68,0:15:10.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What are they concerned about?
Dialogue: 0,0:15:10.73,0:15:13.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're also going to push ahead with the passenger pigeon.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:13.18,0:15:16.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So Ben Novak, even as we speak, is joining the group
Dialogue: 0,0:15:16.95,0:15:20.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that Beth Shapiro has at UC Santa Cruz.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:20.27,0:15:21.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're going to work on the genomes
Dialogue: 0,0:15:21.66,0:15:23.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the passenger pigeon and the band-tailed pigeon.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:23.94,0:15:27.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As that data matures, they'll send it to George Church,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:27.85,0:15:31.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who will work his magic, get passenger pigeon DNA out of that.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:31.75,0:15:34.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We'll get help from Bob Lanza and Mike McGrew
Dialogue: 0,0:15:34.59,0:15:37.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to get that into germ plasm that can go into chickens
Dialogue: 0,0:15:37.66,0:15:40.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that can produce passenger pigeon squabs
Dialogue: 0,0:15:40.23,0:15:42.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that can be raised by band-tailed pigeon parents,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:42.69,0:15:44.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then from then on, it's passenger pigeons all the way,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:44.95,0:15:48.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,maybe for the next six million years.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:48.08,0:15:50.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can do the same thing, as the costs come down,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:50.40,0:15:53.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the Carolina parakeet, for the great auk,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:53.62,0:15:56.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the heath hen, for the ivory-billed woodpecker,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:56.42,0:15:58.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the Eskimo curlew, for the Caribbean monk seal,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:58.52,0:16:01.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the woolly mammoth.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:01.39,0:16:03.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because the fact is, humans have made a huge hole
Dialogue: 0,0:16:03.86,0:16:06.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in nature in the last 10,000 years.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:06.95,0:16:08.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We have the ability now,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:08.99,0:16:13.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and maybe the moral obligation, to repair some of the damage.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:13.86,0:16:18.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most of that we'll do by expanding and protecting wildlands,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:18.40,0:16:20.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by expanding and protecting
Dialogue: 0,0:16:20.07,0:16:24.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the populations of endangered species.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:24.60,0:16:26.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But some species
Dialogue: 0,0:16:26.76,0:16:31.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we killed off totally
Dialogue: 0,0:16:31.94,0:16:35.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we could consider bringing back
Dialogue: 0,0:16:35.25,0:16:38.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to a world that misses them.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:38.42,0:16:40.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:40.63,0:16:51.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:16:51.83,0:16:53.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Chris Anderson: Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:53.68,0:16:55.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've got a question.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:55.49,0:17:00.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, this is an emotional topic. Some people stand.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:00.24,0:17:03.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I suspect there are some people out there sitting,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:03.10,0:17:06.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,kind of asking tormented questions, almost, about,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:06.11,0:17:08.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,well, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait a minute,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:08.02,0:17:11.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there's something wrong with mankind
Dialogue: 0,0:17:11.12,0:17:14.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,interfering in nature in this way.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:14.60,0:17:18.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's going to be unintended consequences.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:18.07,0:17:20.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You're going to uncork some sort of Pandora's box
Dialogue: 0,0:17:20.84,0:17:24.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of who-knows-what. Do they have a point?
Dialogue: 0,0:17:24.83,0:17:26.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Stewart Brand: Well, the earlier point is
Dialogue: 0,0:17:26.33,0:17:29.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we interfered in a big way by making these animals go extinct,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:29.88,0:17:32.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and many of them were keystone species,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:32.42,0:17:34.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we changed the whole ecosystem they were in
Dialogue: 0,0:17:34.93,0:17:36.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by letting them go.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:36.72,0:17:39.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, there's the shifting baseline problem, which is,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:39.31,0:17:40.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so when these things come back,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:40.84,0:17:43.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they might replace some birds that are there
Dialogue: 0,0:17:43.14,0:17:45.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that people really know and love.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:45.53,0:17:48.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think that's, you know, part of how it'll work.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:48.28,0:17:51.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a long, slow process --
Dialogue: 0,0:17:51.16,0:17:53.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the things I like about it, it's multi-generation.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:53.40,0:17:55.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We will get woolly mammoths back.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:55.45,0:17:57.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,CA: Well it feels like both the conversation
Dialogue: 0,0:17:57.23,0:17:59.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the potential here are pretty thrilling.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:59.52,0:18:01.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you so much for presenting. SB: Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:01.23,0:18:03.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,CA: Thank you. (Applause)