Stewart Brand: The dawn of de-extinction. Are you ready?

Throughout humankind's history, we've driven species after species extinct: the passenger pigeon, the Eastern mountain lion, the dodo .... But now, says Stewart Brand, we have the technology (and the biology) to bring back species that humanity wiped out. So -- should we? Which ones? He asks a big question whose answer is closer than you may think.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.
Find closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages at www.ted.com/translate
Follow TED news on Twitter: / tednews
Like TED on Facebook: / ted
Subscribe to our channel: / tedtalksdirector

[@Tapajara]

If someone asks you "Aren't we trying to play God when we attempt to bring back a species we caused to go extinct?" Answer them, "Well, it is a nice change to play God after having played the devil for so long".

[@crazysilly2914]

Species have been going extinct since looooooong before humans ever existed, as a new species evolves, it replaces an old, obsolete species...

[@ap6480]

@@crazysilly2914 And? We are killing species at a high rate, you probably heard that we hunt 100 million sharks per year, species that existed in the millions are now in the thousands or in the hundreds because of us, we managed to extinct a species of pidgeon with billions in population, it wouldn't harm anyone if we tried to fix what we've done to nature

[@ap6480]

@@crazysilly2914 You will not want to see your grandchildren saying "Damn dolphins were really cool, it's a shame they went extinct"

[@crazysilly2914]

@@ap6480 They won’t go extinct LMAO. If a few species of them *_DO_* go extinct, there will be new dolphin species that will arise to replace them that are more adapted for the changing environment.

[@ap6480]

@@crazysilly2914 it was an example, but you don't realize the value of wildlife you seem like a kid by the way you talk about it, anyway the real point is onmy first comment

[@DeoMachina]

Things like this are what get me the most excited to be alive in the 21st century. This could be the point in history where we become as good at fixing things as we are at breaking them.

[@chaosknight8428]

I love this idea! It is a very intriguing topic. I would love to one day see a woolly mammoth or a passenger pigeon.

[@jameslee1145]

I'd really like to see the a woolly rhinoceros make a comeback, as not only would it be cool, but it could help in bringing awareness to the plight of existing rhino species. The thylacine would be cool too. Also, theoretically, the cave hyena and California grizzly bear could both be back bred, so I'd like to see that happen.

[@connorwaud6134]

Amazing best ted talk I have ever seen

[@matthewlanza5157]

If they go extinct again is it re extinction

[@wildmagicburst51]

probably. But if they bring it back after that it could be re-de-extinction

[@tempjohn3510]

de re de extinction

[@nmheath03]

Like the Pyrenean Ibex?

[@primalwerewolf9356]

@@nmheath03 they should Clone the Terror bird it would be cool to see a live one

[@mewunknown7136]

Lol

[@zxcvnmtgb]

One of the best TedTalks I've seen this year.

[@infini_ryu9461]

Stewart Brand always has something great to talk about.

[@S3PT1M1]

i love hearing a scientist say "perfect enough"

[@TaiganTundra]

"We are the gods now" -Peter Weyland

[@allykey117]

How has this only got 65 thousand Views???? Every person should watch this Fascinating!!!

[@akshaybharadwaj9110]

Amazing work!!!! I just wish someone does this for the asiatic cheetah that has gone extinct in India and successfully re-introduce them. The last remaining population of these 'Cheetahs of the snow' is in Iran.

[@franklater2908]

You've got a good point there! Maybe we should give re-engineered de-extincted creatures a prefix, since they are only approximations of the original. 'Redodo' does have a nice ring to it. :)

[@terencew3840]

it is our responsibility to bring back species we have driven to extinction.

[@greatestever8825]

+terence w u are right you should be a teacher

[@ethangray8527]

It's also our responsibility to mix and match genes to create kickass hybrids.

[@joaco2865]

thank you for not being negative like some other dumbasses here, we gotta fix the holes that we put there, we will do it slowly but we will do it :)

[@matheuscardoso1]

This is an idea worth sharing

[@smitty2868]

A superior channel, thanks so much for your incredibly interesting and talented presenters.

[@Galactusperson]

Yes, bring them all back! These poor creatures didn't deserve to die!

[@ismetkilinc9830]

Well, maybe; but, it is my own idea of course, if human can do that there will be some problems too!

[@ismetkilinc9830]

Because the animals died and if we bring the species back they're own to their time and i am not sure that will you want a GIANT mamooth in your city or nearby your town?

[@williamflores9779]

Amount OfSomething bring them back!! Bring them back!!

[@mikem2677]

And kill them again... humans never learn.

[@Victor-sx1kg]

Environments have already adapted to live without the animal, or they have went out. The animal would have no place to return to except a preserve, and if kept in captivity, these animals could pose a danger to humans. Cloning these animals is not cost effective or helpful, and a DNA strand has 3 billion base pairs to order. Humans don't have that much time to save one species while one goes extinct every 15 minutes. You idiots don't know any science except that a few well known animals are extinct, so overlook the rest.

[@artwillvideos]

2011 film called The Hunter, starring Wilem Dafoe, is a story about searching for a rumored sighting of the thylacine, Tasmanian Tiger. It had the old b&w video clip shown here, and more. Pretty good movie!

[@younghannibal7434]

art wallace great 🎥

[@brg9327]

Great presentation.

[@crackonoon]

This made me cry. To think within my lifetime the Passenger Pigeon may fly again. I did a report on Martha when I was in grade school. I am overjoyed.

[@kardiaskepsi3425]

"They disappeared for a reason" and they can be brought back for an equally valid reason.

[@gejuntian]

human too op plz nerf

[@norabufrieh40]

hold your hopes now will ya

[@syntax2679]

they overcentralize the meta

[@Beautifulcoil]

What a time to be alive.

[@TheSokodelic]

I love this. This is what it means to be human. To try things we've never done before. To solve problems and extend our knowledge through infinity. Proud Human.

[@greatestever8825]

There are now 3 white rhinos left please do something to save these poor souls

[@greatestever8825]

***** But there are only 3 northern white rhinos and they are very close to death

[@greatestever8825]

***** ok

[@NatureByDhole]

@@greatestever8825 they were inseminate 2 months ago, the last 2 females are pregnant now

[@stonedape2406]

No, there are thousands of white rhinos left. You mean northern white rhinos.

[@mshara1]

God creates pidgeons. God destroys pidgeons. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates pidgeons. Pidgeons eat man … woman inherits the earth.

[@wouterdewet1155]

Hope you think about it and get over your fears. Cheers and God bless you mate.

[@mr.x2567]

Wow, this video takes me back... And still nothing has been done.

[@simonbanks5012]

part of me hopes they don't bring back the dodo because they will just become the new factory farmed staple food and since it's a novelty everyone will want to try one

[@nmheath03]

Dodo's actually tasted horrible,so they'd be better suited as pets,especially considering their friendly nature.

[@scottishwildlifewatcher5552]

All of you stop your pointless arguments with creationists (Don't argue with idiots, they will only bring you down to their level) and focus on how amazing this is!

[@FukkinLogic]

I for one am thrill about this. I see why people don't like and understand they have an opinion against it whether it be religious or not this is great opportunity to learn more genetic traits to learn if it can survive after being dead for long or short time. If it will have basic natural instinct or will need to be taught them I believe in second chances and look forward to what comes of this project

[@LanceWinslow]

Pretty darn impressive - Jarassic Park here we come!

[@chriscullen1291]

I think its a fantastic technological step but the motive is misguided. These animals went extinct because the environment we or the world had for them was not enough to sustain them. Bringing them back feels like keeping something alive just for the sake of it. We are NOT doing these pigeons a favour by creating them we are just toying with our smart technology and trying to look moral in the process.

[@FireDrakeKid]

Well maybe for a lot of species. But many, such as the Passenger Pigeon or Tasmanian Tiger were hunted to death by humans, and their habitat still exists. If we bring them back but we take away the millions of people shooting them (Passenger Pigeon) or the bounties for every one killed (Tasmanian Tiger) they could survive and thrive in an ecosystem not that much different from the one they left only a century ago.

[@Educationscience]

I WANT DINOSAURS NOW.

[@patchandr4729]

+Questfor Calatia lol

[@maytriks4215]

+Questfor Calatia not possible, sorry.

[@Victor-sx1kg]

A DNA strand loses 1/2 of its information every 500 years. We can't recover dinosaur DNA.

[@thespeedyyoshi]

Do you really though? Jurrasic Park kinda says otherwise.

[@NatureByDhole]

Birds.

[@jessesamuelanderson9587]

Great speech - Wonderful topic - Building on good news!

[@johnsmith-es3js]

Been 7 years since this vid was realesed. Well, we're waiting

[@sandraperkins6639]

It is our moral obligation, to our entire earth’s eco system and to our children’s children.

[@ThePetachu]

I think they should continue work on this to perfect the science and methodology but the timing couldn't be worse. It's foolish to bring back extinct species to a dying world. We haven't even begun to seriously address man-made climate change! Do we really want to do this in the near future only to wittness them struggle and die again!

[@kingdavid7901]

ThePetachu Let's start thinking positively. The last Ted Talk I watched spoke of animals and there natural migrations reversing desertification and hence massively changing the ecology of dry, damaged lands and reversing climate change and producing food. It was magnificent the work that guy had done. So reintroducing an extinct humming bird might help fertilize a dwindling forest, producing more fruits. Feed more iguanas and monkeys. Creating more plants, more cooling, more oxygen. Less carbon. It not a quick know fix. In 500 years we will by then learn plenty and will being doing things thought impossible now. And no, I done want to believe the apocalypse is near.

[@cameronc-r9224]

Hey can you send me that linc to the video that's the kind of stuff I like to read and hear about! Your right lets keep it positive, and by the way you should look up 'The Secret of Eldorado' Terra Preta if you haven't already, it runs along another solution to both climate change and reforestation! With some fascinating history to go with it then look up biochar workshop part 1! This stuff can make a big difference in how we handle climate change! :)

[@Starry_Night_Sky7455]

Each individual animal that is born will struggle and die. So, yeah, what's the damn point of doing this? It's selfish and cruel. Life is survival and competition is fierce. That's how it all works. Does this animal really want to live again in the wild? Probably not. These people are just wildly excited to continue their Frankenstein technology. Heck, I would too, if I was them. It's just too tempting. Some humans are so experimental. They want to do this. Hey, maybe a reintroduced species might not face extinction twice. For one thing, such lab-created creatures are not the original species that natural adaptation evolved to fit their environment. Who knows? It's plausible a reintroduced species could dominate. A better option is to keep their creations in captivity safe and sound. But, that's clearly not their intention. There's evidently a bunch of these scientists dying to release their creations to continue their experiment.

[@mewunknown7136]

Ong well said

[@tsummerlee]

I'm far away from being a misanthrope, but I think this is seriously worthwhile research. Fascinating!

[@zacharyburgeson7964]

I got to do this for school but it's pretty interesting

[@CottonDrifting]

Dinosaurs! I want dinosaurs. I don't care that we didn't kill them off, I still miss them. RAWWWW.

[@SocratesAth]

Remember: birds are dinosaurs!

[@CottonDrifting]

Yeah, but they're not really. I want the big toothy kind from Jurassic Park. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Stewart Brand and the good ecological conservation stuff of bringing back the passenger pigeon. But it doesn't change the simple fact that proper dinosaurs would be awesome. It's going to happen eventually, once people get into the de-extinction thing the public will demand for it.

[@LimeyLassen]

Max White The window of viable DNA only goes back a few thousand years. He said as much in the podcast version of this talk.

[@CottonDrifting]

Yeah DNA doesn't survive, but I reckon we're going to get really good at epigenetics and work back from modern birds by mapping out all the unused left over DNA :p

[@LimeyLassen]

Max White Good point. That would only work with therapods though. The only dinosaur we could turn a bird into is Velociraptor.

[@tersta1]

De-extinction seems the right thing to do, but for those species that have gone extinct because they couldn't adapt to the environmental changes that humans foisted upon them, including radiogenic, chemical, electromagnetic environmental toxicity, would the bioengineers only be wasting effort reanimating species that are destined to go extinct again soon after? Would the monitoring and maintenance of reanimated species produce domesticated, rather than natural wild species, that mankind would ultimately oppress like factory farm animals? Perhaps effort needs to be spent cleaning up the environment and economic system of exploitation, consumerism and depletion of resources, before investing in the de-extinction of species. We could start by stopping the extinction of the wild and niche humans still left alive first. Can the sprawling R1b haplogroup leave a little room for all the other less aggressively 'progressive' genotypes left on the planet? Pliny the Elder documented the extinction of many large species used in gladiatorial games. Is there something that bioengineers can do to curb the European penchant for blood lust and cruelty? Truly, being humane, compassionate and respectful toward nature might prove to be far more difficult to achieve than the technology needed to animate and reanimate those species who simply can't stand living with the people who command others to live and die at their whim. Perhaps academia and policy-makes should use their inventiveness to do what's needed to stop the current mass extinct before recalling living beings to suffer the slow death of a poisoned, exploited planet. Otherwise reanimating those who elected to die, rather than adapt, is a self-serving cruelty. Stand back and look how humans seem like a voracious parasite that killed its host, and only then tries to bring it back to life to continue parasitizing it, because that would be more entertaining and more convenient than finding a new host that can withstand the exploitation that industry and the economy demand.

[@joaco2865]

one of the reasons the first animals that will brought back is to help improve the environment

[@moxuanli218]

good point!

[@nedvedpavel01]

The graphics of the slideshow were superb...Which software did he use to create that slideshow?

[@drewabrams2903]

Amazing , god bless those and their work

[@MonkeyKong21]

that sounds great! I should mention that the salary for the security position is relatively low due to the simplicity of the job. Basically, the employee just needs to keep an eye on the security feeds and not shut down any critical components of the dinosaur containment setup

[@jbw3]

@James Lee Sounds good, I'll get right on that.

[@ALEXANDER31988]

This is amazing!

[@FindingGreenOS]

This is amazing.

[@BallisticFitz]

Awesome video.

[@prometheus4268]

Simply brilliant

[@Megahs2010]

Interesting stuff ...!!

[@johnmeighan3544]

Just read the article on National Geographic, really interesting to see it gaining momentum.

[@danny366587]

I'm ready for this

[@Eire2004]

you just made my day !!!!!!!!!

[@VoxAcies]

Fascinating.

[@DapperDragon]

This video makes me happy. :)

[@RUanonymous]

7:50 - Внезапный Сергей Зимов !

[@thirteenfingers]

That too. Meant to include something roughly along those lines but posted too soon and didn't feel like double-posting. Certainly the addition of a new variable (especially one that actually *isn't* the same species but just one quite like it) is a fairly large risk. He said birds are "pretty hard wired"... yet it seems there's an assumption that back-breeding/crossing/engineering a bird that looks like the original will have similar hard-wiring. What if it doesn't?

[@Snee_3D]

Absolutely wonderful talk. Ted is always a great place to go for interesting thoughts for the day. Hopefully we can lead out world into utopia.

[@HazelAngelxX]

I really enjoyed this video the thought of it gets me excited :D However some question came to my mind as I was watching it. When these animals are in captivity and are going extinct do they end up inbreeding with one another in order to keep their population growing? Are there enough resources to sustain the animals that are already alive or going extinct as well as the ones they are bringing back? I'm sure they've thought of these questions themselves, but I wish I was about to hear their answers.

[@crazyrussiannhb]

There was also an interesting TED talk about substituting poultry, fish and mammal protein with insect protein, some good points were made, such as - a lack of shared diseases, a good feed-to-protein conversion rate (smth like 90% or more? don't remember well) and, I think, some other ones.

[@DorianEudesSeverin]

Thank you for the improvement tips. I've to be way more careful when I'm writing down something while typing

[@unvergebeneid]

I think any ecosystem that depended on the woolly mammoth is already gone for good. Bringing back mammoths is actually really really hard so we aren't going to see this in a while but it is definitely going to happen, not because of ecological considerations but because .... IT'S SO FRICKING AWESOME!

[@MeleeTiger]

This is a wonderful movement and I wish these men and women the best.

[@BattleBunny1979]

...how is that harsh? im proud of the man!

[@franklater2908]

Perhaps we could even extend it, with sayings like "perished like the passenger pigeon". :)

[@christalcotton30]

I enjoyed this

[@jameslee1145]

I personally think we should bring back the Caspian tiger. It was closely related to both Bengal and Siberian tigers, and only went extinct less than 50 years ago. Its revival could boost both conservation and synthetic biology. And also the columbian mammoth. We could domesticate them and give tours of national parks on their backs.

[@ixmassachefxi]

Just have to say that this is hilarious. You sound just like my parents. Thanks for the good laugh I needed it. Cheers!

[@baileyhamilton7974]

Why was it funny?

[@ixmassachefxi]

@@baileyhamilton7974 do you honestly think I can remember wtf I was talking about 7 years ago haha

[@baileyhamilton7974]

@@ixmassachefxi I typed the reply and then saw you said it 7 years ago lol

[@alewilliam789]

I read someone's post here and they made a good point. Some of these animals would be good just for a farming and harvesting standpoint. We have bred chickens to hold a lot of meat and lay a massive amount of eggs, but what if we could resurrect a species like a chicken that we could take traits from and use to our advantage in the chickens of today to hold more meat or breed bigger eggs? Of course that's an hypothetical example because I don't know a specific species that we could use to genetically modify a chicken with, but I hope you guys get the general idea.

[@alewilliam789]

***** It would pretty cool to see the Giant Moa walk the Earth again. Not so sure about the Saber Toothed Cat though.

[@InimitaPaul]

If they're of benefit to the planet then by all means bring them back, I struggle to see what use a woolly mammoth would be though, other than as a curiosity.

[@jameslee1145]

Hey wow! The Revive and Restore website finally updated their candidate list! Good thing too! Not only does it pick more realistic candidates (they really only changed it for the Pleistocene megafauna) but they also added currently endangered species that could be helped with de-extinction technology!

[@nixart]

More chilling than any John Wyndham novel!

[@kanamjunior5103]

Good news like this gives us hope. And yes, we have the moral duty to repair the damage we caused as humans on this planet.

[@rickymalsawmtluanga3280]

please keep an subtitles ..

[@SamwellWK]

If I were asked what I wanted to see happen before I die, perhaps the item that would top the list would be to see a living woolly mammoth with my own eyes in a wild space. There is little I can think of that would make me happier, or more proud of my species.

[@jameslee1145]

Also the website barely mentioned the Gastric Brooding Frog, which is much closer to De Extinction than any of the Pleistocene megafauna. Speaking of which, I'm curious to see how the theory behind Pleistocene Rewilding are influenced by bringing back the ancient giants.

[@nlamorte90]

wow, that was really insightful. I very much liked that analogy. :) If i could give you 100 thumbs up, I would.

[@neogovernment]

Now that is a good idea!

[@CalvinBauer844]

depending on what mammoth that they bring back will depend on where the mammoths habitat is like some of the climates that they lived in could be like northern USA and Canada, or Siberia, its a cool idea and would be interesting to see in some small scale tests.

[@filix92]

I love it how they all clap and then he just tells them how the animal died after 10 minutes of life. I hope they get this working, it would be a great step for science.

[@zaxceXXX]

amazing

[@MrSaint3]

just imagining a brontosaurus roaming central park and catching its head lumber past my window... ahhh amazing!

[@vbauserdeluxe]

This is magnificent! ..... Even my fellow angels in Heaven are pleased with this! My fathers blessing upon this project!

[@HaloisTight]

i would like to see the all of australian megafauna from the pleistocene brought back.

[@thefuckenmanful]

Humankind needs to realize how much of a failure we all are at taking care of ourselves and the planet. We need to realize that deep down we don't care that much about animals, ecosystems or even ourselves. If we did then we would be more responsible about it. We need to realize that were not as moral and good as we thought we were, and we have a lot of growing up to do.

[@sarthakgangopadhyay5909]

As long as no one is stupid enough to bring back dinosaurs, this is very good.

[@ReadingMartin]

Well, that's impressive.

[@Toshinben]

There's something I don't get - about this and other futurist/tech proposals - how does this relate to the real-world resource shortages projected for the future, climate change (which even to skeptics should be a 'possibility'), and human population growth in the near to mid-term future? I don't know if they know something I don't, or they don't account for existential factors? Seeing tech talks always skews me because the tech vs. resource people rarely touch the same topics.

[@eertrj]

I have heard about this technology for quite sometime and it is fascinating, but I can't recall anyone addressing the issue of genetic diversity.

[@dwwest8168]

The only problem with bring back the passenger pigeon is now they'd have to compete against the European starling.

[@FRSandrew]

i think he mentioned that 200,000 years is the limit or something to that effect.

[@karlpilkington997]

4 years later.... still no species have been brought back

[@NatureByDhole]

Wait tho ! Go do yourself

[@TheSokodelic]

This guy just said we CAN do something about it and also we are connected to all the other species. As one thread go, it weakens the whole bio-architecture of life, eventually effecting us humans, which if you know enough about the biological processes shouldn't be much of a stretch of understanding. If anything, we'll gain resources directly and indirectly through this restoration of biodiversity.

[@andrineslife]

Well for starters, some of the species play an important role in their ecosystems, or the ecosystems we want recreated :)

[@Sinuev1]

And lastly, we've over-focused our crop production on a vary narrow spectrum of plant species, and it's having a detrimental effect on biodiversity. We don't cultivate and consume what grows locally, we radically change the environment to suit foreign plant species - wiping out or severely reducing many plant species which are staples (or exclusive food sources) of multiple local species up the food chain.

[@greglawrencemusic]

Damn...got a little misty at the end, there. "...To a world that misses them."

[@HenrikBgelundLavstsen]

i was thinking jurrassic park while that guys was talking :D

[@maryamalaa9294]

What are the last results ? Really curious and excited

[@Grimfate013]

Passenger Pigeons .. I fear would either cause some issues. I guess as long as the risk of health of other species, humans (people), themselves is not detrimental I would like to see further progress in this programs