CANADA: A British-led project called “Frozen Ark” is preserving the DNA of endangered species before they disappear as the Earth undergoes what scientists are calling the sixth mass extinction.
“Many of these species are going to go extinct before we even know they exist,” said John Armour, Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Nottingham, which is host to the project.
“The whole idea of the Frozen Ark is to get and preserve that material for future generations before it’s too late.”
Launched a little over a decade ago by British scientists Bryan Clarke, who died last year, and his wife Ann, the Frozen Ark network now has 22 partners worldwide.
In all 48,000 samples have been collected belonging to some 5,500 species.
In Nottingham, some of the 705 samples are on special cards to keep DNA at room temperature and others are in a freezer at -80 degrees Celsius (-111 Fahrenheit), including samples of a Siberian tiger and an Amur leopard.
Many conservationists see the project as defeatist, said Professor Ed Louis, a trustee of the Frozen Ark.
“Their attitude is that we should be putting every effort into saving the endangered species. The fact is that it’s impractical and impossible,” Louis explained.
“We’re not there to replace the efforts to save, it’s a backup. It can hopefully save the genetic heritage of just about everything.”
