ASIZ/Research/Systems/De-extinction
Medicine · ι Far horizon

De-extinction

De-extinction aims to revive extinct or endangered species — or their key traits — using preserved DNA, gene editing of close relatives, cloning, and selective breeding.

Field
Medicine
Horizon
ι Iota · 2035–2042
Lead center
Living Systems
Maturity
Research frontier — early-stage, high-uncertainty
Why it matters

It could restore lost biodiversity and ecosystem functions and advance genetic and reproductive science, though it raises ecological and ethical questions.

Where it stands

Projects target species such as the mammoth and passenger pigeon; no full de-extinction yet, and rewilding is contested.

How ASIZ approaches it

The discovery loop, applied.

Through the Living Systems center, ASIZ aims the discovery loop at de-extinction: frontier models survey the literature and simulate the possibilities, rank the experiments most likely to resolve the open questions, and partner labs run the decisive ones — with results shared openly.