Following my comments earlier today on a company called Colossal Labs and their goal of bringing back the long-extinct Woolly Mammoth (and, as it turns out, also the Tasmanian Tiger and the Dodo!), I thought it would only be fair to learn a bit more about this company and its work than just the contents of a short presentation by CNN. And this is what I have found out:

The past is the future, and the future is now.

Or so it would seem, if one is to judge from a review of the impressive website of Colossal Labs (http://www.colossal.com). No amount of time or expense has been spared in its design and preparation, affording us a glossy, detailed look at their facilities, their “global advisors / thought leaders,” their global partner labs, and what appears to be their mission statement:

“EXTINCTION IS A COLOSSAL PROBLEM FACING THE WORLD. AND COLOSSAL IS THE COMPANY THAT’S GOING TO FIX IT. Combining the science of genetics with the business of discovery, we endeavor to jumpstart nature’s ancestral heartbeat. To see the Woolly Mammoth thunder upon tundra once again. To advance the economies of biology and healing through genetics. To make humanity more human. And to reawaken the lost wilds of Earth. So we, and our planet, can breathe easier.”

I don’t know about anyone else, but after reading that, I’m actually having trouble breathing at all. I’m scared.

For openers, I have a confession to make: In any and all fields of science, I am woefully ignorant. Absolutely, completely, totally, disgracefully ignorant. That said, however, I do have a functioning brain and an excellent grasp of the English language. So I can plainly understand that, when Colossal’s website talks about nothing less than attempting to “jumpstart nature’s ancestral heartbeat” and to “reawaken the lost wilds of Earth,” they’re messing with Mother Nature. Big time.

It’s not necessary to remind me of the amazing, beneficial scientific discoveries of the past that have made our lives easier, healthier, and longer. But when it comes to genetic engineering, I begin to worry. Isn’t there a reason that those animals have vanished from our planet? Whether you adhere to the teachings of the Bible or the theory of evolution, or both, don’t you think there’s some sort of time-released blueprint at work here? Has anyone considered whether a new generation of dinosaurs and dodo birds would be able to acclimate to our overheated, chemical-saturated world of today? Rather than having a beneficial effect on our current atmosphere, might they not — once again — be destroyed by it?

In other words, might we be going just a wee bit too far?

I would invite the reader to check out Colossal’s website and come to your own conclusions; and I would love to hear the opinions — both pro and con — of others. As I said, I am not a scientist. But, like most of the world’s population, I exist at the mercy of those amazing people who have such a “colossal” effect on all our lives.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
7/24/23