M.J. Rose

The “de-extinction” project’s big TEDx conference at the National Geographic headquarters is a wrap but you can watch it in its entirety here. And now the ethical and scientific questions are abuzz, and many people are comparing what their doing to a “Jurassic Park” scenario. The bottom line is the science is not able to use DNA as ancient as dinosaur, so the comparison is not appropriate. So then, what will these ground breaking scientists be “resurrecting”? Think carrier pigeon and woolly mammoth, which, in our opinion, is spectacularly exciting. We wish these science pioneers the very best of luck. We will keep you posted on their progress as they go…

The Promise and Pitfalls of Resurrection Ecology

Some extremely smart people (the “Revive & Restore Initiative“) are starting a new project called “De-Extinction”. There’s a big conference and TED “talk” happening tomorrow at The National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C., to which you may tune in here.

What will they be talking about exactly?

…”Revive & Restore, with the support of TED and in partnership with National Geographic Society, is convening a day-long conference to showcase the prospects of bringing extinct species back to life, along with a discussion of the ethical issues that will raise…”

Yes, you read that correctly: “the prospects of bringing extinct species back to life.”

More background here, and take a poll: Which species would you like to see revived? (The Tasmanian tiger, the California condor, the woolly mammoth…? Revive & Restore are already hard at work on the North American passenger pigeon which was last seen alive almost a century ago.)

New York is full of secrets and mysteries. All you have to do is walk around for a day (or a night) and you are guaranteed to find something amazing, intriguing, or mystifying. Here’s one Brooklyn based “secret” right on the street in plain view that is fascinating and even a little spooky…

The Fake Townhouses hiding Mystery Underground Portals

(from Messy Nessy)