The science behind Relic and Relic II: Resurrection is reaching a tipping point.
Scientists are debating about a possible return of the Neanderthal. With stem cell technology breaking through elsewhere and a complete sequence of the Neanderthal genome at hand, it’s seemingly only a matter of time or resources…
Scientists are debating about a possible return of the Neanderthal. With stem cell technology breaking through elsewhere and a complete sequence of the Neanderthal genome at hand, it’s seemingly only a matter of time or resources.
Seriously, who needs Mammoths, if we could bring back creatures like Dinosaurs and/or our close relatives back to life. The scientific world was surely influenced by the Hollywood blockbusters of late, but they are indeed considering the possibilities.
Big Think had an interview a while ago featuring Dr. Michio Kaku, professor of theoretical physics at the City College of New York, pondering the thought: what if we actually just clone dinosaurs or even more interesting from an anthropological standpoint the Neanderthal, all based solely off their genomes?
Intriguing and plausible to geneticist and director of Harvard University’s Church Labs, George Church who believes (or hopes) that Homo Neanderthalensis will once again roam the world with us in our lifetime. All that’d be needed is a human female “adventurous” enough to take on that biological task.
As we are in the midst of an ongoing discussion, flaring up for a couple of years now, should we be looking closely at our neighbor’s newborn baby? Church believes that with current stem cell technology and a completed sequence of the Neanderthal genome, the potential has been there for a while now.
The discussion of the last 4 to 5 years clearly shows somewhat of a sentiment of compassion for the Neanderthals that went extinct tens of thousands of years ago, even though tiny bits and pieces obviously survived within our own genome. It would be an impressive feed for science and definitely paves the way for bringing back something from 65 million years ago.
Dr. Kaku chimed in on that idea a couple of times now and always admitted, that cloning a dinosaur won’t be as easy as cloning a Neanderthal or a mammoth. However, does it mean it’s impossible at all? No, nothing is really impossible and the upcoming biological revolution through the use of quantum supercomputer should be immensely helpful in recreating all kinds of genetic sequences we can think of. The Potential for cloning through epigenetics is waiting for us and after finding enough proteins within soft tissues of recovered dinosaurs femurs, we already know that it resembles those of frogs, reptiles and even more so, chickens.
Now, let’s get back to a question that pre-dates the scientific discussion – is it the right thing to do?
Especially if we consider bringing back Neanderthals, where there are only minor technical limitations to get past, the ‘Cavemen ethics’ come into consideration. Big science like this surely is expensive, and any money spent on it is money not spent elsewhere, but if there’s one thing we learned from humanity’s troubled history – what could be done, always has been done… even or especially the morally wrong things.
In other words, what kind of positive value might justify it? Research is often justified by the simple credo of a benevolent disposition – the promise of bringing tangible benefits to all of us such as extending the length and quality of lives. Once the mainstream is attracted to a specific idea, things are quickly set into motion
With Neanderthals, there will always be this ethical element and our most important might be: what do we do once a Neanderthal child is brought to life? It’s not a Hollywood-orchestrated coincidence of bringing back an Encino Man like the early 90ies comedy leads us to believe.
After all, a Neanderthal is a very capable human being that should not be held in captivity next to some zoo animals and also needs a lifetime of study. We could observe the growing child’s behavior. Observation alone will not be enough, though as we don’t know much about the timely role and dependency of environmental inputs. Unlike most other animals, a Neanderthal would begin to understand how it is being treated and most likely reacts in a way that reflects its place in the world, it’s very own world of conception.
Scientists would need to clearly communicate it to the cloned Neanderthal, fully aware of the implications and hoping that language can bridge the gap of time and evolution.
Many people in the scientific community believe this act is far too inhumane to even attempt, where others see the possibility of genetic diversity that could help us in the coming decades. Finally, there are those with a sense of humor, assuming that any Neanderthal born this way would have some natural, inherited human rights within human society, and therefore, if inclined to it, could sue the scientists cloning him or her for wrongful birth.
Feel free to listen to more arguments by Dr. Kaku’s on the complexity of prehistoric cloning.
This article was originally published on pionic. Read the full story:
https://pionic.org/the-return-of-the-cavemen-prehistoric-cloning-revisited
Author Jonathan Brookes 
Cloning of Neanderthals is in fact only a matter of time I’m sure. If man can do it, man usually WILL do it and, unfortunately, most of the time ethics are set aside. This is especially true when it comes to the military who are, in fact, seeking that “super soldier.” We know from the bone structure that Neanderthals were more robust than our own species and physically more powerful. What is still a “mystery” is their cognitive processes and abilities but once cloning is achieved that too will no longer be a mystery. The Neanderthal Genome Project was far more successful that we imagined and now that it is done cloning of a Neanderthal is only a step away. The question is, however, if this is the right thing to do? It is the same question associated with cloning the Mammoth and dinosaurs. Might it not be better to leave an extinct species extinct? If we clone these extinct organisms might we not be opening a hornets nest? And if we do successfully clone the Neanderthals then do we consider them “human” and “persons” or do we consider them simply an invention of the scientific/military community? I think the old adage “Be careful what you wish for or you just might get it” applies here. Personally, I take the few that it is most often better to let a sleeping dog lay. Good article!
LikeLike
reblogged on Peron Rants
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Peron Rants and commented:
The possibility of cloning Neanderthals is thrilling yet chilling! Is this the right thing to do? And what do we consider them to be if we successfully clone them? Human? Animal? Product?
LikeLike
Neanderthals were ugly. The instinct to give a child every genetic advantage -this will include good looks- would then require creating a “bride of frankenstein” for it to have a companion. No human woman would mate with a neanderthal. Even their ugliness is not within human scale . They look alien and not human and would only induce revulsion in a human female. Look at the depiction of that neanderthal male in a suit. He STILL looks like an ugly neanderthal. You can’t fashion a silk purse from a sow’s ear nor a human out of a neanderthal. I hope no human woman wwould be evil and degenerate enough to “host” such a creature in her body. Trouble is, they have already had success breeding a sheep in a synthetic uterus. So a neanderthal would be truly man-made. A true monster in the sense of being cobbled together from scrap parts just like the frankenstein monster, with no parentage, no known history. That would make for one very angry,alienated and sexually frustrated animal. Not a good idea.
LikeLike