Could it be Possible to Revive Extinct Species, as in Jurassic Park?
The short answer: for insects, it’s quite likely, for larger, older animals, it may be difficult. Scientists have successfully isolated DNA from a 120-135-million-year-old weevil found in Lebanese amber, amplified it using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and sequenced it. Not its entire genetic code, but portions thereof. This genetic information has been compared with modern weevils for phylogenetic analysis. This is not the revival of extinct species, but it’s a very important step in that direction. There are a number of technical challenges in trying to revive extinct species, but none seem impossible to overcome. The hardest step is finding enough intact DNA. Because amber is organic and seals trapped insects in an airtight enclosure, the degradation of genetic material is quite slow. In typical fossils, little if any organic material remains, because the fossil is not the organic material itself, but inorganic silts that replace the organic material as it decays. Until as recent
