Biobank saves animals on the brink of extinction

Australia has just been launched in Melbourne. This is a place to collect living cells from Australia's diverse and unique wildlife for freezing, thereby saving many animals on the brink of extinction.

Dr. Joanna Sumner next to a tank of frozen animal cells in Australia. Photo: UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

According to SBS News, researchers from Museums Victoria and the University of Melbourne have begun collecting tissue samples from 100 endangered Australian species. Smoky rats and grassland earless dragons are two species whose cells have been frozen.

“We can take tissue samples from animals that are still in the wild, grow cells from those animals, and then freeze them. This could potentially allow us to use those cells to regenerate animals,” said Professor Andrew Pask, one of the project leaders.

Meanwhile, Dr Joanna Sumner from Museums Victoria Research Institute described the three-year project as a “living biobank” at minus 196 ^degrees Celsius. “Australia has one of the highest rates of animal extinctions in the world. That’s why we need to conserve these species before they disappear,” Dr Sumner said.

Ms. Peta Bulling, a member of the Australian Conservation Organization, said that the land of kangaroos is experiencing an extinction crisis, with more than 2,000 species of plants, animals and ecosystems on the list of nationally threatened species.

As long as climate change and habitat destruction continue to threaten Australia's unique flora and fauna, preventing extinction must be a top priority, Ms Bulling said.

“Biobanking is certainly a tool in the toolbox to protect Australia’s natural environment. But it is certainly not a silver bullet to solve all problems when it cannot help protect the cultural and spiritual connections Australians have with their environment,” Ms Bulling said.

There are concerns that reintroducing species is like playing god, but both scientists and conservationists like Ms Bulling say it is necessary work. One of the most prominent proponents of such ambitious projects, Mr Pask was involved in the project to save the Tasmanian tiger from extinction.

Speaking about the concerns of the biobank project, Professor Pask explained: “We don’t want to go through the scenario of regenerating an animal because we lose it. The way it works is to preserve the living cells from that animal so they don’t have to be re-created. We’ve frozen them in a form that can actually be used to regenerate those animals.”

Project leaders are looking to share the biobanking technique with other research institutions across Australia. Their ultimate goal is to protect Australia’s diverse wildlife and prevent species from disappearing as they have in the past.

MINH CHAU

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