Why Can’t We Clone Endangered Species to Save Them?

We know how to clone animals, so why aren't we saving endangered species by cloning their populations?

Hosted by: Hank Green

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[unicornswag]

I'm starting a GoFundMe to fund my own cloning. Future generations need me.

[Jake]

Can we acknowledge once more how badly Pandas were screwed by evolution?

[checkmyplaylist]

*because then there would be another clone war*

[dianagibbs]

I like the idea of making stem cells turn into sperm & eggs, as it slightly increases the genetic diversity compared to cloning.

[AliceSylph]

I've done of lots of research on this as part of my degree and the main knock back is that there isn't a wild left. Even if you could increase numbers and avoid genetic issues, cloned individuals don't live as long as they have "old" dna.
The debate is basically the same as the debate for zoos: yes, it's great to build back up systems but what will really savr lives is ensuring these individuals have a safe space that meets their needs, which is something that is severely lacking at this point in time.

[rdeyeshine]

They should make a movie about cloning dinosaurs

[tesnacloud]

This is not even going into how to properly raise a wild clone animal. Raising such a creature in captivity would make it unable to be released in the wild, and extinct species have parenting requirements no longer available at all. There are likely even more issues we haven't even discussed.

[alejandrotoruno]

I like how they have to add in, “to save them” like no we ain’t cloning them for fun hahaha

[poyoslippy]

I heart Hank ! You got me through chemistry without buying a book .

[marcopohl]

clones can buy us time, but that's as far as they can carry us

[jbear]

I’ll get a egg from a rhino just hold my beer

[goodrage]

a cow named Bessie...






USACO intensifies

[rasmuswi]

Not mentioned here: In many cases an alternative to cloning is breeding. It's not much harder to factory-farm lions and tigers than to factory-farm cows and pigs..The problem here is that you might end up with large numbers of huge predators that know absoultely nothing about how to hunt, and that tends to end badly.

[seannot-telling]

Maybe it's time to give out hunting passes for poachers. For each 5 poach you tag and bag you get $1000. But don't forget they fight back.

[RangerRuby]

Clones. The one thing that can answer everything! Why does that person carry a dictionary everywhere? Because the clone made her do it. When was the Boston Tea Party? Ask the clone. Why is SciShow so awesome? Because they talk about clones!

[Nhojneirbo]

Save their habitats, save the species.
End poaching for profit.

[AndrewCamarata]

Why can’t the conditions in a womb be simulated in a glass jar? Make it happen. That let’s engineer clones that are genetically superior.

[OptimusPhillip]

Prediction: genetic diversity is essential to a sustainable population, and cloning doesn't allow for that.

[gab.lab.martins]

I look at that Gaur and think “there’s a lot of meat in there”. And now we know why it’s endangered.

[bazookallamaproductions]

Apparently it's so dangerous in some parts of Africa, they won't ALLOW you into some naational parks without an ARMED guard with a FULLY AUTOMATIC rifle to protect you from poachers.