this post was submitted on 13 Apr 2025
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Science Memes

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submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago (2 children)

In an ideal world, it'd be to de-extinct fairly modern things that filled a niche that is no longer being filled. This is far from an ideal world though, and the reason in this world is to make press releases to get people talking about it so they can raise more money while not creating anything of actual value.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Okay let's play that out... Everyone gets excited, they make big strong wolves and get funding... Now what?

They've got a pack of extra big wolves raised under human care. Do they kill them? Do they sell them? Do they open their own park? Do they just keep them for study? Do they just leave the gate open and let them go?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I don't think you read my comment. They wouldn't bring back dire wolves that don't have a niche in the current ecosystem. They'd bring back things that have gone extinct in the last century or so, or maybe artificially modify existing creatures to fit niches that are no longer filled. This project isn't doing what would happen in an ideal world. It's only making garbage to sell to investors to make a bunch of money and bail.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

I understand that, but the wolves are living things that require expert care. This isn't some cat they can take home or some mouse they can quietly put down... They're stuck with them

If they kill them, they'd get death threats (people are already attached). If the wolves escape, they'd get protesters. People will likely come to try to see the wolves, the wolves will try to escape and become extra aggressive if they're understimulated

Good PR stunts don't require you to run a zoo for the next 14 years - and whether they allow guests or not, they'll need a team of people, including round the clock security, to take care of them

So unless they can sell them to someone, every success they have pushes them further into becoming Jurassic Park, but with less cool animals

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

Probably start with one or a few cool scientists with that original purpose, then by the time it can take life it's gone through the enshittification machine.