Let’s clone Jesus
It’s not quite the official opening to the public of Jurassic Park but it’s a start:
“The Pyrenean ibex, a form of wild mountain goat, was officially declared extinct in 2000, when the last-known animal of its kind was found dead in northern Spain. Shortly before its death, scientists preserved skin samples of the goat,
a subspecies of the Spanish ibex that live in mountain ranges across the country, in liquid nitrogen.
Using DNA taken from these skin samples, the scientists were able to replace the genetic material in eggs from domestic goats, to clone a female Pyrenean ibex, or bucardo as they are known. It is the first time an extinct animal has been cloned.”
Now, I don’t want to diss the blameless ibex. I’m sure that when it still roamed the Pyrenees it was a wholly respectable beastie. No doubt, its milk made excellent cheese, its wool the most sturdy stocks and its orifices for much needed relief to the more desperate farmer during the long and cold winter nights.
Still, it wouldn’t make it on my top ten – or top hundred – list of animals I’d resurrect first. I mean, there are many more interesting extinct critters to clone. Pterodactyls for instance, or dodos. A woolly mammoth even or a Tyrannosaur Rex…
Again, I’ve got nothing against the noble ibex. I’m sure it was good with kids, even better at playing scrabble and absolutely perfect with a mighty dollop of mint sauce but I still wouldn’t have chosen it – or any goat, to be honest – as the Adam of the ex-extinct species.
Mind you, I wouldn’t have chosen any animal for that role. I think it would have been much more fun to resurrect some extinct human. God, what I would give to see the look on Napoleon Bonaparte’s face when he first saw who was France’s (small) leader now.
Also fun: Bring back Christ and force him to watch Jesus Christ Superstar.
Or bring Jane Austen back to live and have her read that latest zombie version of Pride and Prejudice.
I could come up with many more of these proposals but I’d rather hear from those who are still reading this what famous dead person they would like to bring back to life – and why. So, if you want, give it a go.
(One thing though: You can’t choose Michael Jackson. I’m afraid that, by the time he died, there wasn’t enough original tissue left to make a viable clone…)
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