Evolution is a diligent innovator and the diversity it has achieved offers the curious seemingly unending marvels. In some cases, though, a particular innovation might not make much sense on initial consideration. In those cases, zooming out in time can be instructive.

Whit Bronaugh, writing for American Forests, demonstrates this using the concept of ecological. . .   Read More

In May 02013 Stewart Brand discussed De-extinction and one of Long Now’s latest projects Revive and Restore. Bringing back extinct species is a scientific pursuit that is loaded with both cultural and environmental significance. Revive and Restore is galvanizing discussion amongst the general public as well as the academic community around these efforts. . .   Read More

Revive & Restore’s passenger pigeon expert, Ben Novak, has been working for months to gather samples of DNA from 77 specimens of the extinct bird.
Our first glimpses of data confirmed that the samples would be able to provide the DNA needed for a full genome sequence, but as we delved into the work. . .   Read More

There’s an upper limit to how long DNA can last due to the way it decays – dinosaurs, for instance, lived far too long ago for their DNA to still be readable – but scientists recently recovered and sequenced a genome 10 times older than the previous oldest.

The genetic material comes from a horse that. . .   Read More

Though the Arctic can seem like one of the most inhospitable regions of our planet, it provides unique opportunities to scientists seeking to understand life and its many manifestations. Recent examples of this in the news include the story of a frozen Mammoth carcass found to contain preserved blood and muscle tissue, and a report […]

This lecture was presented as part of The Long Now Foundation’s monthly Seminars About Long-term Thinking.

Reviving Extinct Species
Tuesday May 21, 02013 – San Francisco
 
Video is up on the Brand Seminar page for Members.
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Audio is up on the Brand Seminar page, or you can subscribe to our podcast.
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De-extinction. . .   Read More

“Reviving Extinct Species”
Tuesday May 21st, 02013 at the SFJAZZ Center, San Francisco
From promoting the publication of NASA’s first satellite images of the whole Earth to co-founding The Long Now Foundation, Stewart Brand has always sought to simultaneously humble and empower. Our planet, seen for the first time against the vastness of. . .   Read More

This Friday, March 15th, Long Now’s Revive & Restore project, in partnership with the National Geographic Society, are hosting TEDxDeExtinction, an independently organized TED event. To be held at National Geographic’s headquarters in Washington, DC, the event will feature 25 talks about the emerging science of de-extinction.

Speakers include practitioners in the. . .   Read More

This year’s TED conference has two of Long Now’s board members presenting, Stewart Brand and Danny Hillis. Although the videos will not be published on the TED site until later this year, some attendees graciously summarized and illustrated the talks for the rest of us. The cartoons below come from Fever Pitch, a group of […]

Where molecular and conservation biology meet, a new scientific field is emerging: De-extinction. Scientific and technological advances are making the prospect of reviving extinct species a realistic goal.

Revive & Restore is a project of The Long Now Foundation that seeks ecological enrichment through extinct species revival.

A private meeting last fall, jointly organized. . .   Read More