![]() ![]() The return of thylacines to Tasmania could help to ensure that devils are never again subjected to risks of this kind.’ ‘If that contagious cancer had popped up previously, it would have burned out in whatever region it started. Thylacines would have prevented this spread because they would have killed significant numbers of Tasmanian devils. He points out that in the decades since the thylacine went extinct, there has been a spread in a ‘dangerously debilitating’ facial tumour syndrome which threatens the existence of the Tasmanian devils, the island’s other notorious resident. ‘There is no carnivore now in Tasmania that fills the niche which thylacines once occupied,’ explains Michael Archer of the University of New South Wales. In Australia, the thylacine, more commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger, is another extinct creature which genetic scientists are striving to bring back to life. Passenger pigeons are one of the pioneering species in this field, but they are far from the only ones on which this cutting-edge technology is being trialled. The basic premise involves using cloning technology to turn the DNA of extinct animals into a fertilised embryo, which is carried by the nearest relative still in existence – in this case, the abundant band-tailed pigeon – before being born as a living, breathing animal. Geneticist Ben Novak is lead researcher on an ambitious project which now aims to bring the bird back to life through a process known as ‘de-extinction’. ![]() Sadly, the passenger pigeon’s existence came to an end on 1 September 1914, when the last living specimen died at Cincinnati Zoo. Flying in vast numbers across North America, with potentially many millions within a single flock, their migration was once one of nature’s great spectacles. The passenger pigeon was a legendary species. Should we try to bring extinct species back to life? You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26 which are based on Reading Passage 2 below. ![]()
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