Scientists report that they have reconstructed the genome of Neanderthals, a human species that was driven to extinction some 30,000 years ago, probably by the first modern humans to enter Europe. . .
Possessing the Neanderthal genome raises the possibility of bringing Neanderthals back to life. Dr. George Church, a leading genome researcher at the Harvard Medical School, said Thursday that a Neanderthal could be brought to life with present technology for about $30 million.
Scientists report that they have reconstructed the genome of Neanderthals, a human species that was driven to extinction some 30,000 years ago, probably by the first modern humans to enter Europe. . .Ron Bailey of Reason magazine then proposed that if we can bring back the Neanderthals, we probably should. Bailey's reasoning is interesting. He argues, first, that there is nothing inherently unethical about cloning either humans or Neanderthals (nor, presumably, any other species), and that the important issue really is not whether we should do it, but what reasons we might have for doing so.
Bailey's primary justification for cloning our stocky cousins is to find out how close they are to us in terms of intellectual capacity and moral sensibility. Putting it that way might make the idea seem squeamishly close to a Doctor Moreau style experiment, but considering that we (or our prehistoric ancestors, anyway) probably destroyed the Neanderthal line originally, it may be that we have a moral obligation to bring them back, if we can.
John Tierney of the New York Times agrees with Bailey:
If we discovered a small band of Neanderthals hidden somewhere, we’d do everything to keep them alive, just as we try to keep alive so many other endangered populations of humans and animals -- including man-biting mosquitoes and man-eating polar bears. We’ve also spent lots of money reintroducing animals into ecosystems from which they had vanished. Shouldn’t be at least as solicitous to our fellow hominids?
So, what do you think? If we can create Neanderthal clones, should we? A new IEET reader poll asks for your opinion, with these possible responses:
- No, their existence in a modern world would be untenable.
- Yes, we owe it to them since we killed them.
- No, because they might kill us.
- Yes, it would be an interesting experiment.
- No, because that would be "playing God."
- I have mixed feelings and can't decide.
Please give us your input!