Thursday, March 16, 2017

De-Extinction by Rebecca Hirsch - ADVISABLE


Hirsch, Rebecca E. De-Extinction : The Science of Bringing Lost Species Back to Life, Non-Fiction, 120 pgs. Lerner Publishing Company (Twenty-First Century Books) 2017. $35.99. Content: G.  

With the discovery of cloning, scientists were able to bring an extinct species back to life - the Bucardo, a wild Spanish goat with fabulous horns, but the baby was born with a lung problem and only lived 10 minutes, so it’s the only species to become extinct twice.  Now scientists are looking at the possibilities and problems of regenerating extinct animals. The  Mammoth - they don’t have good DNA but they have enough to build a genome - so maybe a hybrid elephant/mammoth is a possibility? What about passenger pigeons, the tasmanian tiger or even the white rhino (which is not extinct yet, but will most likely be soon)?  Some say they are saving the environment, fixing the problems humans caused, other disagree and say they are trying to play God.  

Fully illustrated, with side bars explaining the science, the six chapters are divided into short, easy to understand sections, so it isn’t overwhelming, even though there is a lot of science in it.  Includes source notes, a glossary, bibliography and index. This is a fabulous source for a project on cloning, environment, wildlife preservation or extinct animals, with lots of websites to go to for further information.  This would be a nice source in your library.

MS - ADVISABLE  Lisa Librarian

No comments: