Tasmanian tiger: Scientists hope to revive marsupial from extinction

Researchers in Australia and the US are embarking on a multi-million dollar project to bring the Tasmanian tiger back from extinction.

The last known one, officially called a thylacine, died in the 1930s.

The team behind the bid say it can be recreated using stem cells and gene-editing technology, and the first thylacine could be reintroduced to the wild in 10 years' time.

Other experts are sceptical and suggest de-extinction is just science fiction.

The thylacine earned its nickname of Tasmanian tiger for the stripes along its back - but it was actually a marsupial, the type of Australian mammal that raises its young in a pouch.

The group of Australian and US scientists plan to take stem cells from a living marsupial species with similar DNA, and then use gene-editing technology to "bring back" the extinct species - or an extremely close approximation of it.

It would represent a remarkable achievement for the researchers attempting it, and require a number of scientific breakthroughs.

"I now believe that in 10 years' time we could have our first living baby thylacine since they were hunted to extinction close to a century ago," said Professor

Andrew Pask, who is leading the research from the University of Melbourne.

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I wonder if it can adapt to the polluted air.etc of the modern world? Much as I would love to see an extinct animal I wonder if it is the right thing to do.Most extinct creatures are used to air with higher oxygen content and may have trouble breathing today.