“Jurassic Park,” the “Ice age” Saga, and other science fiction films have been a constant reminder of species that no longer exist on the planet. However, science has begun to develop to the technology required to bring extinct species back to life.

Species that have gone extinct relatively recently can be artificially created using genetic engineering. With genetic samples from an extinct species, scientists will be able to re-create an embryo to bring to life. Although bringing the extinct back to existence sounds like a mandatory requirement for the future bioengineering, it could also cause some drastic consequences.

First of all, the science behind bioengineering is still quite new, and hasn’t been perfected on the living, not to mention the dead. Scientists have only recently conducted genetic engineering experiments on rats. The limited samples of extinct species that we have could be squandered on a failed attempt or an unexpected variable. Even success could come with consequences. Our limited knowledge on bioengineering could lead to genetically modified organisms instead of the species that was revived. The effects of our ignorance on a genetically modified organism could cause a slight discoloration in its skin or a flying venomous bulletproof animal hybrid. The variables and outcomes that come with tweaking the genome of a living creature are infinite. Not only are the outcomes immeasurable, but we hardly know what change would cause what outcome. Scientists would have to be shooting in the dark.

Second of all, there are 41,415 species that are vulnerable and/or critically endangered. These species should have a higher priority over a species that has gone extinct. While researchers and scientists would be getting billions of dollars in funding, organizations that are keeping endangered species alive could lose relevance and funding. Science has seldom been known to be cheap and efficient. The funding, time and resources it would take to research this possible dead end could very well steal funding from World Wildlife Fund or the International Union for Conservation of Nature, organizations fighting to protect endangered wildlife.

Though the possible consequences of genetic engineering seem daunting, it’s important to remember that humanity is quite a way aways from bringing back endangered species. Science is slow and tedious, and the government and health organizations will take years to approve the processes. Until then, the idea will remain fiction, and the idea will be debated.