Back From The Dead: AI In The Pursuit of De-Extinction
Bringing life back from the dead is an idea that has been around for a while. Although we still can’t resurrect Frankenstein for your Halloween party, emerging technologies — such as artificial intelligence (AI), digital memory, and data analysis — are taking the science of de-extinction to previously unimaginable feats. In fact, biotechnology companies that revolve around resurrection biology, such as Colossal Biosciences, are backed by high-profile investors including Tony Robbins, Winklevoss Capital, Paris Hilton, Peter Thiel, and even the CIA.
However, those expecting a Jurassic Zoo may be disappointed to find out that DNA has an expiration date. Meaning, even in the best conditions, it won’t last more than 1.5 million years — dinosaurs were extinct 60 million years ago. While a dinosaur-best-friend remains firmly in the realms of sci-fi, de-extinction of other animals like the Ice Age Mammoth is a much closer horizon.
Why De-Extinction?
The catalyst for de-extinction projects: increase biodiversity, restore ecosystems, mitigate climate change, and combat the presently unsustainable rate of extinction.
Life forms on Earth are interconnected, they support and sustain one another in food chains — extinction can cause a domino effect. When an organism is removed from the food chain, those that depend on it — usually for food — may die too.
Under normal conditions, just 1–5 species go extinct every year. However, recent studies show several losses each day. The extinction rate today is approximately 1000 times faster than before humans became the planet’s dominant species, a rate not seen since dinosaurs went extinct 60 million years ago. Scientists estimate that half of Earth’s species are in danger of extinction by 2100.
We’re currently living through Earth’s sixth mass extinction period, the Holocene extinction. Unlike previous extinction events caused by natural phenomena, the sixth mass extinction is driven by human activity, primarily (but not limited to) hunting, deforestation, pollution, climate change, and other side effects of human expansion. De-extinction could be an ally to resurrecting lost species and protecting those most at risk today. With recent development in genome sequencing, genetic engineering and cloning, scientists have begun to resurrect recently extinct species.
Into the Ice Age: Will the Woolly Mammoth Roam Again?
The Woolly Mammoth walked the Planet roughly 4,000 years ago — and they may do so again. Scientists believe that the return of the Woolly Mammoth to the Arctic tundras it roamed thousands of years ago has significant benefits for combating climate change. The existence of Mammoths could reinstate the icy landscapes, stomp out low-oxygen trees, and expose healthy, carbon-trapping grasses. By doing so, mammoths can restore the grasslands, ultimately restoring the climate and balancing greenhouse gasses.
Fortunately for mammoths, the age of a specimen is insignificant compared to its temperature. DNA starts decomposing soon after death, but consistently cold temperatures can greatly slow or even halt the process. That’s why biologists were able to sequence thousand-year-old mammoth genomes from preserved specimens in the Arctic.
With the mammoth genome in hand, scientists use AI to copy and paste mammoth DNA into cell lines of its closest living relative, the Asian elephant. If the cells successfully replicate, researchers use 3D printing technologies to create an artificial uterus for gestation, eliminating the need to use a female elephant as a surrogate.
CRISPR technology is being used by researchers at Harvard University to splice mammoth genes into Asian elephant DNA, its closest living relative. But with 1.4 million known gene mutations, it becomes a monumental and time-consuming task to figure out which genes need to be swapped into elephant DNA. To turn this goal into reality, scientists need smarter machines, more data, and serious processing power. Perhaps one day, we might see the first mammoth to live in 10,000 years.
Technology’s Starring Role
Science fiction films often suggest that artificial intelligence could spell the end of humanity. In reality, scientists are turning to AI as an innovative tech solution for gene-editing experiments. Sequencing genomes is a gruelling and strenuous task. It’s even more tedious with species that have gone extinct before any genetic material could be frozen and stored. Even under permafrost, scientists had to piece together fragments of Woolly Mammoth DNA. Additionally, any organic material that comes into contact with the corpse will leave some of its DNA behind, mixing in with the genetic material of the remains. Fortunately, new technologies using AI can process extensive amounts of data about any singular piece of DNA, accurately sequence its base pairs, sift out those that don’t belong and fill in gaps. These DNA sequences follow complex patterns, and the key to filling gaps in DNA is to identify the patterns. It’s unrealistic for humans, but AI-enhanced computers can conduct pattern recognition that rapidly analyzes incomplete data and fill in the missing pieces of the pattern, learning with each iteration to do the work more efficiently than before.
These technologies are driven by multidimensional databases, data compression, and the ability to fit more information on a single computer chip. Memory advancements have already lowered the cost of genome sequencing, making the science affordable.
Here’s a quick timeline:
- 1990: The first human genome was sequenced. This took 13 years and cost roughly $1 billion.
- 2000: The process takes several days and costs around $5,000.
- 2019: Sequencing the entire human genome takes just 20 minutes and costs less than $600.
- Future target: The process will take less than 1 minute and cost under $100.
Currently, there are three pathways being explored: back breeding, cloning, and gene-editing, the most modern method.
Back breeding: Evolving Backwards
Back breeding can be traced back thousands of years. If we had lots of time and a few acres of land, this could be a viable method. Back breeding is a process where lost traits in an existing species are bred back. In simpler terms, animals evolve over time, simultaneously losing and gaining new traits, back breeding is evolving backwards to attain lost traits.
This method requires a close relative of the extinct species and involves a really long process. Animals must be bred multiple times until the desired traits are present. It’s an imprecise process that could take years or decades to complete. But luckily, even if we don’t have a starter species or the time to breed multiple generations. There are some other options.
Cloning
Another route to de-extinction is cloning. The first mammal to be successfully cloned is Dolly the sheep (code-named “6LL3”) back on July 5, 1996. Cloning is the process of creating an exact genetic replica of other organisms. This process occurs in nature, identical twins are technically clones of one another and bacteria clone themselves as a means of reproduction. Subsequently, cloning can also be done by human intervention. We’ve cloned lots of animals, including buffalos, dogs, and camels. So how can we use cloning to bring back a long-extinct species? The most reliable method is likely Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT). Unfortunately, we do not have viable mammoth tissue or a fully intact genome to attempt cloning. For now, cloning the Woolly Mammoth is still a far-off dream. But there is one other approach we could try and it has elements of back breeding and cloning. A new technology opening up options for de-extinction is genetic engineering, more specifically CRISPR.
CRISPR Gene-Editing: Copy and Paste Just Got Real
First discovered in 2012, CRISPR-Cas9 is famous among gene-editing technologies. It is a type of genetic scissor that can cut DNA at a pre-programmed position. CRISPR has two prime functions: an RNA library programmed to target specific parts of a genome and the Cas9 protein that acts as molecular scissors. Simply, CRISPR deletes or adds genetic information like a cut-and-paste tool. This means strands of DNA, which is a 3-billion-molecule-long chain, can be edited at specific points. We could insert genes from an extinct animal into the DNA of a close relative. Formulating a hybrid with physical attributes and phenotype of the extinct species. To do this, we’d first need to sequence the extinct animal’s genome. If we have preserved DNA, for example, from the mammoth tissue in the permafrost, we can use genome sequencing to work out its entire genetic code and test which genes are linked to the phenotype of the extinct species. We could then work out where they differ by comparing the extinct species’ genetic code to that of its closest living relative. Finally, we can copy specific genes from the existing animal and paste them into the host animal’s DNA.
The Past in The Future
The realm of de-extinction is still one scientists are trying to understand. However, with current developments in cloning and gene-editing technology, the likelihood of bringing back extinct species is greater than ever before. In fact, some researchers say we might see the return of passenger pigeons as early as 2025! The efforts today aim to resurrect species that used to exist and protect those that still exist, but perhaps in the future we may be creating species that have never existed.
