On Thursday, Elon Musk’s comment revived public fascination with whether modern biotechnology could ever bring extinct dinosaurs back to life.
Musk’s Post Fuels Debate
The discussion began when entrepreneur X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, took to social media and said that a real-world Jurassic Park-style project might now be financially viable.
Musk replied, “I hope someone makes this work,” drawing widespread attention on the platform.
While some people shared concerns, saying it would be a bad idea to de-extinct dinosaurs, others shared Musk’s enthusiasm.
In 2021, Neuralink co-founder Max Hodak also suggested future genetic tools might allow scientists to engineer new species over time, though he said that they would not be authentic dinosaurs.
Science Vs. Science Fiction
The idea of recreating dinosaurs was popularized by the 1993 film Jurassic Park, inspired by the novel by Michael Crichton.
In the story, scientists clone dinosaurs from preserved DNA. Researchers say that the scenario remains unrealistic because dinosaur genetic material has not survived intact over millions of years.
De-Extinction Efforts Focus Elsewhere
Some biotechnology companies are working on reviving recently extinct species.
Colossal Biosciences has pursued projects involving the woolly mammoth and other animals.
However, co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm has said, “We’re not working on dinosaurs. There’s no dino DNA.”
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo: Shutterstock/Joshua Sukoff
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