de-extinction

[dee-ik-stingk-shuhn]

noun

1. the act or process of bringing back an extinct life form or of producing a similar one by means of various techniques, such as cloning or genome modification using organic matter from preserved remains, or selective breeding to restore a trait that has become rare in the living population.

Example Sentences

Colossal Biosciences insists that what they are doing with their de-extinction projects is conservation.

From Slate

"The whole thing seems like such a racket to me, like a circus sideshow is how I think of it," Noah Greenwald of the Center for Biological Diversity, told Salon in a video interview about the dire wolf and other de-extinction projects.

From Salon

Whether we should see this as a neat bit of symbolism about de-extinction or a defiant, stubborn reference to industries that ought to have died out long ago is an open question.

From Salon

But in April, Colossal announced a more substantial, still pretty cute achievement: the alleged de-extinction of the dire wolf, in the form of three wolfish pups named Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi.

From Salon

Still, if it wants to be taken seriously when it says that conservation is as important an aspect of its work as de-extinction, the highly politicized times we live in mean that Colossal, and Lamm as its figurehead, are going to have to decide which side they’re on.

From Salon