By Tim Binnall
A university in Australia plans to create a 'world-class' research facility aimed at bringing the famed Tasmanian Tiger back from extinction. Made possible by way of a multimillion-dollar philanthropic donation, Melbourne University announced the establishment of the Thylacine Integrated Genetic Restoration Research (TIGRR) Lab. The project will be focused on developing the technological tools to revive the iconic creature which was declared extinct decades ago and to use those insights to also protect threatened species so that they do not suffer a similar fate.
Professor Andrew Pask will spearhead the ambitious project and marveled that the creation of the state-of-the-art lab puts researchers "at a turning point" in the quest to "potentially bring back a species from extinction." As for how such a fantastic scenario could unfold, he has laid out a nine-step process within which the project plans to focus on "three key areas." First, they hope to fully decode the thylacine genome, then use that information to transform marsupial stem cells into a Tasmanian Tiger embryo, and ultimately insert that material into a "surrogate uterus" of a similar animal such as the Tasmanian devil.
The remarkable project came about after philanthropist Russell Wilson of the Wilson Family Trust stumbled upon "some YouTube clips" featuring Pask talking about how it might be possible to revive the long-lost Tasmanian Tiger. The professor's "passion for the thylacine" and the tragic tale of the creature's extinction, he said, so moved the organization that they decided to donate a whopping $5 million dollars towards the effort, leading to the creation of TIGRR. While Pask indicated that completing all nine steps in the process of reviving the thylacine will "likely to take a decade or more," he stressed that "the work along the way will be of immediate conservation benefit for marsupials."
The forthcoming thylacine research lab is not the only well-funded project pursuing the de-extinction of a lost species as last September saw the formation of the bioscience company Colossal, which boasts a staggering $15 million bankroll aimed at creating a "cold-resistant elephant" that, they envision, "is going to look and behave like a mammoth." Considering that such concepts have long been bandied about by imaginative minds, one can be forgiven for expressing some skepticism that these creatures can or will ever be created. That said, technological and scientific advancements along with the significant money that is now being devoted to such endeavors make the prospect for success particularly promising.