Internationally renowned scientists have initiated the most ambitious effort in the world – Project Lazarus. Their mission is to reintroduce the gastric brooding frog, an amphibian that went extinct on Earth in the late 1900s. Michael Archer, a palaeontologist at the University of New South Wales, is undertaking a thoroughly inspiring venture. The team hopes to harness cutting-edge genetic methods to restore a species last observed in the wild in 1983.
The gastric brooding frog, found just outside of Brisbane in 1973, is famous for its special reproductive technique. Soon after mating, the female ingests her fertilized eggs. They incubate in her brood pouch, and she eventually gives live birth through her mouth. It was driven to extinction largely by habitat destruction. On top of all this, a virulent and invasive fungal disease decimated frog populations worldwide. Following a previous failed effort to revive the Tasmanian tiger, Archer and his team reconsidered their approach. From there their gaze moved to the gastric brooding frog.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the excitement with which it began, Project Lazarus faced doubt from many sectors of the scientific establishment. Critics argued that funds allocated for de-extinction efforts could be better spent on conservation initiatives aimed at preserving existing species. Supporters such as Marshall Fund grantee Michael Mahony have spent years searching for the evasive amphibian. They think that by bringing this species back it can help us understand more about the ecosystem as a whole.
The Search for Genetic Material
Now, at the age of 61, Michael Mahony launched into a desperate quest to find the gastric brooding frog. His work involved ambitious field expeditions and seeking the genetic material from surprising sources. It’s a good thing he hung in there. His perseverance paid off. Then, a grad student on his team pulled an old gastric brooding frog carcass out of a freezer. This find reignited hopes for de-extinction efforts.
“What else can this be but the gastric brooding frog brought back?” – Michael Mahony
With access to genetic material from this unique specimen, the team was set to begin experiments with initial focus on cloning. Yet, their journey was not without its challenges, including the incredible challenge of growing embryos. Once again, Mahony recalls a scene overflowing with optimism. What he found was alarming, for only “two or three out of the 50 started to divide,” hinting that their cloning attempts could be proving successful after all.
Mahony drove home a difficult truth—just as with all embryos, these will start to perish in 24 hours. This brings to light just how complicated the process of de-extinction will be. Even in the face of these disappointments, he insisted that it was important to try to bring back species that had only recently gone extinct.
Challenges and Critiques
As Project Lazarus moved forward, it increasingly faced serious objections from fellow scientists. The worries mostly focused on the idea that money used for de-extinction would pull funding away from essential conservation work.
“People say, ‘Let’s spend the little money for conservation on saving what we’ve got, not on wild goose chases to bring something back,’” – Professor Mahony
This second sentiment captures an ongoing tension within the scientific community. Should we prioritize impactful, immediate conservation actions, or take a shot on a new, ambitious moonshot such as de-extinction. Professor Andrew Pask, a wildlife conservationist and genetics specialist at the University of Melbourne, was acutely aware of this tension. He is chief biology officer of Colossal Biosciences. He noted, “As scientists, we’re kind of ingrained to follow the slow and steady pathway, but that doesn’t make for breakthroughs.”
Pask highlighted the need for immediate action to end biodiversity loss. Our planet is truly in a biodiversity crisis—we need these types of breakthroughs to address these large scale issues,” he said. This idea is consistent with Mahony’s view that knowing how and why species went extinct can help prevent extinction in the future.
By 2008, Mahony’s experiences and instincts helped him learn that PM’s idea just might have legs. Buoyed by this unexpected prospect, he and his team of paleogeneticists started creating techniques to entice livable cells from aged specimens.
The Future of De-Extinction
When Project Lazarus released their initial findings in 2013, both scientific and public communities erupted with excitement. The possibility of reintroducing a mammal that had once flourished across Australia’s wetlands felt like a dream within reach. Even after multiple postponements, the ambitious project is still stalled as researchers work through technical hurdles and ethical issues.
Mahony’s perspective on de-extinction comes from a place of responsibility. He argues that if there is potential genetic material available from a recently extinct species, it is worth exploring recovery efforts.
“But it doesn’t seem to me to be a far step, if the animal’s only been gone 20 or 30 years, and we have some genetic material. Should we try and recover it? Because we know why it went extinct, and it’s partly our responsibility.” – Michael Mahony
Despite numerous challenges, Project Lazarus raises crucial, if provocative questions about the role of human intervention against nature. It illuminates what future conservation strategies need to look like.
