Remember the scene in Jurassic Park where the archaelogists witness real, live dinosaurs emerging from their eggs? Sam Neil’s character watches the creatures start to move their tiny, scaly necks and wiggle their thin, bony arms, and he is overcome with a mixture of awe and excitement — and trepidation.
Some real-life archeologist might face an eerily similar set of emotions themselves in the near future.Genetic scientists have been working on a process since at least 2008 that could theoretically allow them to breed a living, breathing woolly mammoth. After sequencing the now-extinct mammals’ genetic code from fossilized hairs, some scientists apparently believe they are close to perfecting a process by which they could manipulate the DNA of modern elephants to produce the massive creatures within a few generations. Even scarier, some have gone so far as to predict the ability to breed a Neanderthal — just a short genetic step down the evolutionary ladder from humanity.It’s certainly not within my expertise — or really the expertise of anyone outside that specific scientific community — to judge whether this idea is feasible or practical, but the ethical questions raised by the proposed experiment are fascinating to ponder.The scientific benefits of “cloning our ancestors” are obvious. Observing real, living predecessors to humanity could help scientists of all stripes better understand a myriad of mysteries. Evolutionary scientists could answer lingering questions about how the evolutionary process functions. Natural historians could see in living color exactly what our ancestors looked like. And even your average genetic tourist can appreciate the amazing prospect that is actually looking at an extinct humanoid life from up-close.But how ethical would the whole process be?The Jurassic Park characters found cloning extinct animals was bad idea, but they were largely disenchanted by the clones’ propensity for snacking on whatever humans they could get their hands on. But there are many less immediately life threatening (but no less important) reasons why cloning is ethically questionable.The first argument against cloning is that life is sacred and should not be toyed with. The Catholic Church — the largest and staunchest advocate of the sanctity of human life — has come out strongly against the proposal. But the question has to be asked: Does a genetic forbear to humanity deserve the same protections as a human? Would a living Neanderthal count as a human or an animal?Whatever the technical classifications, it would be hard to keep the human out of any description of a Neanderthal. They (largely) walk like us. They have a face with and ears and a mouth, two arms and two legs. It would take a cynical, detached observer to look into their very human eyes and say these mammals weren’t at least human-like.Watch 15 minutes of “Cops” and you’ll see a few people who look approximately as human as a Neanderthal.OK — bad example.Either way, scientists should probably leave Neanderthals in the biological history books. In the modern day, they would be liked caged circus animals, a distinctly human-like being brought artificially into existence for the sole purpose of scientific experimentation and observation. This isn’t a religious qualm — although such hestitations certainly exist. The simple fact is we’re eventually going to have technologies that allow us to answer the relatively minor riddles that could be solved by bringing re-creating a Neanderthal.Neil’s character said it best as he watched the unnatural birth of raptors millions of years after their species’ demise: “The world is changing so fast, and we’re all running to catch up. I don’t want to jump to any conclusions, but look. Dinosaurs and man … two species separated by 65 million years of evolution, have suddenly been thrown into the mix together. How can we possibly have the slightest idea of what to expect?”Probably not Armageddon, and probably not even anyobdy on a toilet getting eaten by a T-Rex.But the whole situation is at best unsettling and at worst Frankensteinian. But when it comes to woolly mammoths, well, bring ’em on. I want to ride one.Matthew Albright is a 21-year-old mass communication junior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_malbright.—————Contact Matthew Albright at [email protected]