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yewenjie

Is this a company and not a research lab doing this? What's the economic imperative for funding this?

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They're a foundation working on "de extinction". They want to hatch dodos.

Yes, yes. Dodos.

The endgame of this is Dodos.

Yes, first they'll focus on normal dodos. Then, they'll try very large Dodos. After that, very, very ancient dodos. Followed by island dodos. Then they might set up a whole island that people can visit, full of all kinds of dodos. They'll do tours with self driving cars so people can see all the dodos from a safe distance.

Scientific consensus is that dodos cannot open doors so it’ll be very safe as long as visitors stay in their cars.

They shall spare no expense.

One thing is for sure: they'll still be using a UNIX system

Tbh, I kinda always assume they were going to pivot into designer kids as opposed to dinosaurs.

I'm holding out hope we can get the moa birds back in my lifetime.

Or the South American terrorbirds, the extant species are tiny, seriemas, and they're very interesting. I bet one that weighs 700 pounds would be even more exciting

Terrorbirds? Based on the name alone, are we sure this is a good idea?

A velociraptor skeleton is worth around $10 million. Hatch a few dozen per year and you’re making great money.

[Colossal Biosciences] has raised over $600 million and carries a valuation exceeding $10 billion.

You're not making a return on that from selling velocirator skeletons. Nor is that sort of money in dodos and maos.

Human cloning on the other hand...

It's been a while since high school biology class, and I can't ask my sister right now, but I don't think humans are born in eggs. What does an artificial egg hatching chickens have to do with cloning humans?

Technically speaking, we could engineer it in a way where humans are born from eggs. It would just have to be a very big egg and would also have to continue growing in an incubator after hatching much like chickens rather than the standard womb senario.

... probably just easier to grow babies in a tube

Arguably humans are born from large, soft-shelled, ambulatory eggs.

ewww eggs with legs

I mean, if you can make a velociraptor, the skeleton isn't the bit you'll make money on.

And I feel like lab grown Velociraptor skeletons aren't going to fetch $10 million. Rarity and something new to study is part of the value.

Yeah. Imagine how much you can make on live velociraptors.

Surely the rarity is partially due to the velociraptor skeleton cartel limiting the supply. And really, a velociraptor skeleton wasn't even a traditional engagement gift until they created the demand for it with that advertising campaign back in the day.

How about a theme park? With velociraptors and other jurassic era animals?

I would pay money for that, it would give Disney a run for their money. Throw in some woolly mammoths and sabertooth tigers as well.

Disney makes more from theme parks than from everything else combined. Dinosaurs would be better than anything Disney has ever made.

You can have that kind of revenue cloning cows and horses. Easily so. A bit harder for chickens, but it's possible.

But I fail to see how cloning humans would get it.

Maybe short term, pumping out chickens. For food.

Long term, maybe chickens are just the test case and they will pump out human slaves. Replicants.

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