Scientists hope to revive extinct tiger
AUSTRALIA: Scientists in Australia have mapped the genetic sequence of the extinct Tasmanian tiger, raising hopes of reviving the species, the last surviving example of which died in a zoo in the city of Hobart in 1936.
The landmark study of the Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, was based on examination of DNA from a female cub that had been preserved in ethanol at a museum since 1909.
Andrew Pask, a researcher from the University of Melbourne, said that establishing a blueprint of the thylacine’s entire genetic code was the first step in trying to bring back the species. ‘‘As this genome is one of the most complete for an extinct species, it is technically the first step to ‘bringing the thylacine back’,’’ he said.
‘‘We are still a long way off that possibility. We would need to develop a marsupial model to host the thylacine genome, like work conducted to include mammoth genes in the modern elephant.’’
Tasmanian tigers became extinct on the Australian mainland about 3000 years ago but survived on the island state of Tasmania.
The species was hunted by European settlers, who believed the animals threatened their sheep and who were encouraged by a government bounty of A$1 per carcass.
The species was not officially declared extinct until 1982. But the genome study revealed that the sandy-coloured marsupial may have become extinct even if humans had not settled in Tasmania.
The sequencing found that the thylacine had little genetic diversity, making it harder for it to survive changes in environmental conditions. ‘‘They were actually in pretty bad genetic shape and it wasn’t because of their isolation on Tasmania. It was a longer-term decline in their history,’’ Pask said.
The study found that the genetic health of the thylacine became compromised about 70,000 to 120,000 years ago, an era that coincided with an ice age, and the species became isolated when the island was cut off due to rising seas about 14,000 years ago. On the mainland, the species became extinct due to extreme weather and drought, according to a study released this year.
The findings were published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution. – Telegraph Group
No questions for CNN
CNN’s Jim Acosta says he was warned by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders not to ask a question during President Donald Trump’s bill signing ceremony yesterday, further evidence of sour relations between the network and administration. Acosta said Sanders told him that if he asked Trump a question, ‘‘she could not promise that I would be allowed into a pool spray again’’. He was one of a handful of reporters allowed into the event, which has limited space, as part of a ‘‘pool’’ where they act as surrogates for the entire press corps. He asked a question anyway, which went unanswered. ‘‘We don’t respond to threats,’’ he said on CNN later.
Tillerson’s stance softens
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson yesterday softened America’s stance on possible talks with North Korea, calling it ‘‘unrealistic’’ to expect the nuclear-armed country to come to the table ready to give up a weapons of mass destruction programme that it invested so much in developing. Tillerson said his boss, President Donald Trump, endorses this position. Tillerson’s remarks came two weeks after North Korea conducted a test with a missile that could potentially carry a nuclear warhead to the US Eastern Seaboard. ‘‘We are ready to talk anytime North Korea would like to talk. And we are ready to have the first meeting without preconditions,’’ Tillerson said at the Atlantic Council think tank.
Pistorius ‘bruised’
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The disagreement broke out between Pistorius and another inmate over use of a public telephone, he said.