You can now listen to Ryan Phelan’s TED Talk “Intended Consequences of Helping Nature Thrive” on the Apple Podcast TED Talks Daily LISTEN HERE In her talk, Ryan makes the case for embracing the “intended consequences” of genetic tools that have the power to restore Earth’s balance, abundance, and biodiversity rather than letting fear of “unintended consequences” stifle innovation and progress. You can learn more about her TED Talk here or at TED.com.
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In order to address our world’s biodiversity crisis, we must explore every tool available to save species from extinction. This is the message of a new TED Monterey talk by Ryan Phelan, CEO of the nonprofit Revive & Restore. In her talk, titled “Intended Consequences of Helping Nature Thrive”, Ryan makes the case that we cannot allow a fear of unintended consequences to stifle our innovation and exploration of high-impact tools to prevent extinctions. Ryan shares real-world examples of conservation successes thanks to the use of biotechnology. The concept of “Intended Consequences” encourages all of us to recognize and weigh...
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This post was written by James Osborne, on his blog, A Mammoth Task. On August 6th, 2020, a male foal called Kurt was born at the San Diego Zoo. Kurt is a Przewalski’s horse, and he is a clone. The once desperately endangered subspecies of horse - spectacularly recorded by the artists of the palaeolithic - has been under the looming threat of extinction since it was first scientifically categorised in the 19th century. In the 1960s the subspecies became extinct in the wild as the last of its dwindling population was confined to breeding programmes in captivity. The worry...
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In support of today’s #shutdownSTEM/#shutdownAcademia movement, the Revive & Restore team took the opportunity to spend the better part of the day reflecting upon what our organization can do to better enable racial diversity in our conservation activities. We identified 3 key areas where Revive & Restore can improve. We are making a commitment to: Broaden the diversity of those involved in our listservs Seek out conservation efforts led by people of color and encourage them to apply to our Catalyst Science Fund Plan future workshops to include a greater mix of people of color and monitor our progress We...
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The Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition aims to stem years of decline that threatens this iconic creature as well as the shorebirds and fish that depend upon them. Bernardsville, NJ, June 1, 2020: There is a crisis facing horseshoe crabs and the fish and birdlife that depend on the crab’s eggs to survive. To raise public awareness, seek legislative and regulatory reforms and encourage the adoption of an already available synthetic alternative to the use of horseshoe crab blood in biomedical testing, a coalition of leading conservation groups and businesses has formed a new partnership known as the Horseshoe Crab Recovery...
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CRISPR/Cas9 has given scientists unprecedented control over the basic building blocks of life. It opens the door to curing diseases, reshaping the biosphere, and designing our own children. Now, a new documentary, titled Human Nature offers a provocative exploration of CRISPR’s far-reaching implications. The story is eagerly told by the scientists who discovered it, the families it affects, the doctors eager to use it, and the bioengineers who are testing its limits. How will this new power change our relationship with nature? What will it mean for evolution? To begin to answer these questions the film looks far back into…
Why Revive Extinct Species? The Case for Reviving Extinct Species by Stewart Brand National Geographic News (Published March 11, 2013) Thanks to new developments in genetic technology, DNA may eventually bring extinct animals back to life. Only species whose DNA is too old to be recovered, such as dinosaurs, are the ones to consider totally extinct, bodily and genetically. But why bring vanished creatures back to life? It will be expensive and difficult. It will take decades. It won’t always succeed. Why even try? Why do we take enormous trouble to protect endangered species? The same reasons will apply to species…
