dronester writes:
I never fully considered the possible NEGATIVE ramifications of cloning.... Hmmm. Interesting thought.
The idea is that, with all the hyperbole and oversimplifications that are so typical for mass media, the general public could get the impression from these kind of headlines that the problem of the extinction of species
"has been solved". This could significantly impact the acceptance of policies which aim for preservation, but against a certain cost (economical, liberties, convenience...).
This while of course successes like these are merely micro-steps. If you have one clone, you don't even have a pair to breed. You have zero genetic diversity. It's only possible when you have a closely related species available to carry the fertilized egg upto birth (and how "genuine" will the eventual animal be in that case?). There probably isn't a habitat available, etc. etc. etc. It's not even CLOSE to reanimate an extinct species, recent or not.