What types of "science" are spectacle?

Modern genetic technologies like cloning and gene editing capture headlines and public fascination due to their seemingly miraculous potential to bring back extinct species, clone beloved pets, or create enhanced “super” animals. However, many of these projects are more spectacle than genuine science, designed to generate profit and attention rather than deliver meaningful conservation impact. When resources are devoted to these flashy but often impractical or ethically fraught efforts, funding and focus are diverted from proven conservation strategies that address the real, urgent threats facing wildlife and ecosystems today. This page explores some of these “spectacles” and unpacks why they may ultimately do more harm than good by distracting from the work that truly matters.

HYBRID "DE-EXTINCTION" PROJECTS

There is great public fascination with the idea of bringing extinct animals like the woolly mammoth or the dodo back to life. These projects tend to dominate headlines but remain experimental and face massive scientific, ethical, and ecological hurdles. True de-extinction as portrayed is far from reality; most efforts result in hybrid species or partial genetic reconstructions rather than true resurrected ancestors.

Example: Current "woolly mammoth" de-extinction efforts aim at creating elephant-mammoth hybrids rather than full-bred mammoths. This is a species that has never existed in nature and is merely being created to profit off of the de-extinction hype. The implications of releasing such creatures into modern ecosystems are unknown.

DE-EXTINCTION WITHOUT PROPER CARE

Many de-extinction attempts prioritize the exciting possibility of revival over the critical realities of species viability, genetic diversity, and ecological integration. Bringing an extinct animal back to life through cloning or gene editing is only the first step; ensuring its survival requires attention to long-term health, reproductive success, and appropriate habitat. Without this comprehensive care and planning, revived animals face a high risk of mortality, genetic bottlenecks, and ecological mismatch. Such premature or isolated efforts can lead to what is sometimes called “extinction twice," in which a species is brought back into existence briefly only to fall again.

Example: The Pyrenean ibex became extinct in 2000 when the last known individual died accidentally. In 2003, scientists cloned the ibex using preserved cells from that individual, creating the first extinct animal clone. However, the cloned ibex survived only minutes after birth due to lung defects, caused partly by accumulated DNA damage and developmental issues. No viable population resulted, and without male clones or a genetic diversity plan, long-term survival of the species (and possibly for the indivdual) was impossible even if the clone had lived for longer.

PET CLONING

Commercial pet cloning appeals mostly to sentimental attachment rather than scientific advancement. The process is expensive, has low success rates, and the cloned pets often differ in personality and behavior from the originals. The toll it takes on other, real animals is unreasonable just for the nostalgic purposes of creating a doppelgänger. American companies charge $50,000 as the baseline for cloning cats and dogs. These companies are taking advantage of the sadness and loneliness experienced when grieving the loss of a beloved pet.

Example: In 2005, 1,095 embryos were implanted in 123 surrogate mothers to ultimately give birth to one dog, Snuppy. Over one hundred dogs had their bodies tampered with to give birth to just one dog. 

DESIGNER/"SUPER" ANIMALS

Gene editing hype sometimes promotes animals with enhanced traits such as improved strength, which capture public imagination but have limited real-world benefits. These projects can distract from conservation priorities and raise ethical concerns tied to eugenics.

Example: In 2024, an Argentinian biotech company announced the birth of foals that had been modified using CRISPR to be "super horses" for purposes of racing and polo. This is being done purely for entertainment purposes and to gain a competitive edge.