Gastric-Brooding Frog Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
In 1983, the world lost one of its weirdest frogs. The gastric-brooding frog, native to tiny portions of Queensland, Australia, gave birth through its mouth, the only frog to do so (in fact, very few other animals in the entire animal kingdom do this--it's mostly this frog and a few fish). It succumbed to extinction due to mostly non-human-related causes--parasites, loss of habitat, invasive weeds, a particular kind of fungus. There were two subspecies, the northern and souther gastric-brooding frog, and they both became extinct in the mid-80s sometime.
Except--what if they didn't?
Taking place at the University of Newcastle, the quest to revive the gastric-brooding frog became known as the Lazarus Project. Using somatic-cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), a method for cloning, the project has achieved the major step forward of creating an early embryo of the extinct frog. Essentially, they found a related frog--the great barred frog, which also lives in Queensland and has cool eye markings, like it's wearing sunglasses--deactivated its eggs, and replaced them with eggs taken from the extinct frog.
Even though the gastric-brooding frog has been extinct for decades, it's possible to do this because individual specimens were kept preserved in, believe it or not, everyday deep freezers. When going through somatic-cell nuclear transfer, the eggs began to divide and form into the early embryo stage.
The embryos didn't survive much longer than that, but it was confirmed that these embryos contain genetic information from the gastric-brooding frog--that yes, in fact, they have brought it back to life. The researchers are confident that this is a "technical, not biological" problem at this stage to breed gastric-brooding frogs to adulthood. This is a big step forward for the worldwide attempts to revive extinct animals--the Lazarus Project researchers will soon meet with those working to revive the woolly mammoth, dodo, and other extinct beasties to share what they've learned.
Oh, and in case you were wondering: the gastric-brooding frog lays eggs, which are coated in a substance called prostaglandin. This substance causes the frog to stop producing gastric acid in its stomach, thus making the frog's stomach a very nice place for eggs to be. So the frog swallows the eggs, incubates them in her gut, and when they hatch, the baby frogs crawl out her mouth. How delightfully weird!
Monday, October 12, 2015
Scientists Resurrect Bonkers Extinct Frog That Gives Birth Through Its Mouth
It's been gone since 1983, but the Lazarus Project has brought it back to life.
Gastric-Brooding Frog Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
In 1983, the world lost one of its weirdest frogs. The gastric-brooding frog, native to tiny portions of Queensland, Australia, gave birth through its mouth, the only frog to do so (in fact, very few other animals in the entire animal kingdom do this--it's mostly this frog and a few fish). It succumbed to extinction due to mostly non-human-related causes--parasites, loss of habitat, invasive weeds, a particular kind of fungus. There were two subspecies, the northern and souther gastric-brooding frog, and they both became extinct in the mid-80s sometime.
Except--what if they didn't?
Taking place at the University of Newcastle, the quest to revive the gastric-brooding frog became known as the Lazarus Project. Using somatic-cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), a method for cloning, the project has achieved the major step forward of creating an early embryo of the extinct frog. Essentially, they found a related frog--the great barred frog, which also lives in Queensland and has cool eye markings, like it's wearing sunglasses--deactivated its eggs, and replaced them with eggs taken from the extinct frog.
Even though the gastric-brooding frog has been extinct for decades, it's possible to do this because individual specimens were kept preserved in, believe it or not, everyday deep freezers. When going through somatic-cell nuclear transfer, the eggs began to divide and form into the early embryo stage.
The embryos didn't survive much longer than that, but it was confirmed that these embryos contain genetic information from the gastric-brooding frog--that yes, in fact, they have brought it back to life. The researchers are confident that this is a "technical, not biological" problem at this stage to breed gastric-brooding frogs to adulthood. This is a big step forward for the worldwide attempts to revive extinct animals--the Lazarus Project researchers will soon meet with those working to revive the woolly mammoth, dodo, and other extinct beasties to share what they've learned.
Oh, and in case you were wondering: the gastric-brooding frog lays eggs, which are coated in a substance called prostaglandin. This substance causes the frog to stop producing gastric acid in its stomach, thus making the frog's stomach a very nice place for eggs to be. So the frog swallows the eggs, incubates them in her gut, and when they hatch, the baby frogs crawl out her mouth. How delightfully weird!
Gastric-Brooding Frog Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
In 1983, the world lost one of its weirdest frogs. The gastric-brooding frog, native to tiny portions of Queensland, Australia, gave birth through its mouth, the only frog to do so (in fact, very few other animals in the entire animal kingdom do this--it's mostly this frog and a few fish). It succumbed to extinction due to mostly non-human-related causes--parasites, loss of habitat, invasive weeds, a particular kind of fungus. There were two subspecies, the northern and souther gastric-brooding frog, and they both became extinct in the mid-80s sometime.
Except--what if they didn't?
Taking place at the University of Newcastle, the quest to revive the gastric-brooding frog became known as the Lazarus Project. Using somatic-cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), a method for cloning, the project has achieved the major step forward of creating an early embryo of the extinct frog. Essentially, they found a related frog--the great barred frog, which also lives in Queensland and has cool eye markings, like it's wearing sunglasses--deactivated its eggs, and replaced them with eggs taken from the extinct frog.
Even though the gastric-brooding frog has been extinct for decades, it's possible to do this because individual specimens were kept preserved in, believe it or not, everyday deep freezers. When going through somatic-cell nuclear transfer, the eggs began to divide and form into the early embryo stage.
The embryos didn't survive much longer than that, but it was confirmed that these embryos contain genetic information from the gastric-brooding frog--that yes, in fact, they have brought it back to life. The researchers are confident that this is a "technical, not biological" problem at this stage to breed gastric-brooding frogs to adulthood. This is a big step forward for the worldwide attempts to revive extinct animals--the Lazarus Project researchers will soon meet with those working to revive the woolly mammoth, dodo, and other extinct beasties to share what they've learned.
Oh, and in case you were wondering: the gastric-brooding frog lays eggs, which are coated in a substance called prostaglandin. This substance causes the frog to stop producing gastric acid in its stomach, thus making the frog's stomach a very nice place for eggs to be. So the frog swallows the eggs, incubates them in her gut, and when they hatch, the baby frogs crawl out her mouth. How delightfully weird!
I think that this is weird, but cool. The fact that the frogs have been extinct for decades and there is still the possibility that we can bring them back from extinction. I also think its cool that the frogs give birth through their mouths. That is the first I have ever heard of anything laying eggs in their stomachs and then when they hatch they crawl out of their mouths.
ReplyDeletelooks like the zombies are coming sooner than we thought. I don't feel comfrontable with the idea that scientist are trying to bring extinct animals back to life. I feel like everything happens for a reason and human should stop playing god and bringing it back into the world.
ReplyDeleteI don't approve of this. I am 100% against the idea of cloning and resurrecting extinct species. #1, that certain species went extinct for a reason. #2 it would disrupt the ecosystem that it once lived in. sure people might say, "lets only create one and study it" no, you shouldn't play with life like that. If you were to bring any species back to life and put in its original ecosystem, either it wont survive or the other organisms wont survive. I believe once that certain ecosystem has moved on from that organism, they don't need it and when it comes back, it would only disrupt the way of life.
ReplyDeleteThis is really weird and creepy because I don't see why scientists would be interested in trying to revive a frog that originally died from parasites. Wouldn't the parasites still be feeding off the frog if they revive it again? I think they should of thought this experiment through because they should kill the parasites first and stop them from spreading before trying to revive other organisms.
ReplyDeleteI think this is really cool that we might be able to bring back these frogs from extinction. But really weird that the eggs hatch in their mouth.
ReplyDeleteWhat the heck. Why would anyone think it is okay to resurrect extinct organisms like you are some type of God. Like Marc, I feel like the sudden new (or... really old) organisms would disrupt the ecosystems in the present, making more and more populations go extinct because of competition and limited factors being used by the more dominate organism. I really hope they do not try this on people, because I don't know about you guys, but I'm not willing to relive the events that happened in "The Lazarus Effect," even if it was just a movie. Not only that, but that would also mean there is a greater chance of a zombie apocalypse happening, and lets be honest here, anyone who knows me knows that I would be the first to die. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that scientists are making the right choice. Bringing back an organism that has been extinct since the 80's could throw a wrench into it's old ecosystem. Nobody could predict what could happen, especially if scientists keep bringing back different organisms. It could be catastrophic for the whole biosphere!!!
ReplyDeleteEwww. That is so weird. Baby frogs coming out a frog's mouth..... That's like babies coming out of women's mouth.That just sounds wrong on so many levels. Why would you bring something that extinct back to life. Many things could happen, good and bad. It would be cool to like pet a t-rex and all, but i would not like to get eaten by it.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty scary! What if they do this on people and we are born out of dead mothers. If the dead person never wanted a kid, then don't inject crap into them that makes them pregnant. They choose to have babies. The frog had been extinct for several years already and the ecosystem was doing just fine without it.
ReplyDeleteThat seems like it would be kind of cool, bringing dead animals back to life, but in reality the ecosystems are doing fine without that animal. Plus who knows what would happen if it is brought back.
ReplyDeletei think this is cool but kinda weird. pretty cool how u can bring things back like that. but i also think it could put up an danger flag for the ecosystem. so yes i would like to see some animals come back to life but it may be better to leave it natural.
ReplyDeleteI think in a way this is pretty cool that they might possibly be able to bring some species back out of extinction. But, if you really think about what the scientists are doing, it becomes kind of weird and nasty. Imagine scientists doing this to people, what if you were born out of a dead woman? They get to chose if they want to reproduce and have kids or not. So, I do not think scientists or people in general should be making that choice for someone else other than themselves. Also, if a organism such as this frog is born out of a dead frog, would the newborn frog be born with defects because it was not brought into the world normally?
ReplyDeleteIts pretty cool that its the only animal that except for a few fishes that are able to give birth through its mouth. Its sad that we humans weren't able to protect them from extinction. When was this animal discovered? Is it possible that any could've survived?
ReplyDeleteI think the act of bringing back extinct species is cool and very intelligent. I also think that this shouldn't be done because some of the wrong people could do wrong with this idea. The fact that the offspring of the frogs come out of the mother's mouth is kind of creepy. Bringing back some animals could mess with ecosystems and those species that come back could make other species extinct.
ReplyDeleteI think that cloning and resurrecting sounds pretty cool, but then I am also against it. It is cool that they could be brought back, even after being extinct for so long. But, it could also really effect its ecosystem. I think it is really weird and cool that these frogs give birth through their mouths.
ReplyDeleteFirst thought when I saw the picture was, eww. but this does seem like a really cool thing to do. I always thought it would awesome if we could bring back animals that had been extinct. On what Austin said, I think this could be one of the first steps to bringing back other organisms. I don't think a frog would do much harm to bring back. I'm also glad that us humans didn't do much part in their extinction. I think this would be a good thing to test out, because now that I read these comments I realize the danger that may come from bringing back some organisms. but its pretty cool. :)
ReplyDeleteIts weird and cool that a frong can give birth through its mouth. But is resurrecting and extint organism going to effect the bio sphere? Its a nice idea and all, but what about in the long run. What if there is a disrupt in the "cloning" process? What if it decides to go all zombie?
ReplyDeleteI find this very disgusting, how can a mother frog keep her eggs in her gut? Does she not eat during that period of time, and if she does i wonder where her food locates with out causing harm to the foggy's eggs. All though I find this distributing, I like how technology is helping us bring extincted animals back to life after we killed them off. What if they could bring dinosaurs back to life in some sort of type of way?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Erika, that is gross. Even though that it is cool to see something come" back from the dead" scientists are re-changing what has already been changed once, and that could cause problems. Michael is right, because once scientists try it on other organisms, their bound to try to theorize if it would work with humans. Creepy but cool in a way.
ReplyDeleteWell my oh my, cloning creatures back to life? It sounds pretty cool, however the only problem I question is will the organisms still live as long? I mean, it's great for the organisms to continue on, but if they don't reproduce and live as long it'll be hard for them to stay. I saw of the Discovery Channel that they would clone animals, but the animal cloned wouldn't live as long.
ReplyDeleteI think the frogs were probably pretty cool when they were alive, but I don't think it's a good idea to bring them back. They are extinct for a reason and if they are brought back into the environment it can mess with the species that are currently living there. This could cause more extinctions and for what? A frog? I think it's stupid and the people behind it aren't very bright themselves when it comes to common sense. I don't see any good coming out of this. What's the point of bringing them back anyway? Because they're cool and can pop little baby frogs out of their mouth? wow
ReplyDeleteI think this is really weird I mean a frog that hatches its eggs in its stomach I mean that's the first time I've ever heard of anything like this. But I feel like we should see why they went extinct in the first place so that they are not bringing them back to die. Also with this they may be able to help bring back extinct animals so that would be cool. We just have to make sure dinosaurs are not brought back because we have all seen Jurassic park.
ReplyDeleteThe actual idea of cloning/reviving an extinct species is really cool. But realistically, it probably shouldn't be done. Like Marc said, the species went extinct for a reason. If it came back it would definitely disrupt the food web in its environment. Also, whos to say the same factors that caused it to become extinct at first, wont affect the frog again. If that were to happen, it would be a complete waste of resources that could have been used in an more important area.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I have said this so many times, Dawson tries to smack me for bringing it up: but I want to revive Woolly Mammoths, and I want to ride one. As Jurassic Park taught us, bring species back from extinction is a dangerous game. Nonetheless, some creatures should be brought back for their scientific research value, especially if we were the cause of its demise. Now, we still need to express caution when handling these concepts, but looking at previously lost organisms' behavior with modern biological practices would be unimaginably insightful. ALL HAIL THE WOOLLY MAMMOTH'S RETURN!
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ReplyDeleteThis is so cool man, it would be awesome to basically bring a species back to life. The weird part about the frog though is how it lays its eggs and how the swallow them for the frog to then hatch it and let the baby crawl out of its mouth. So does that mean if the frog got killed the babies went down with it? That would be terrible, I'd be the most care fullest frog in the world. And I have to agree with Matthew riding a wooly mammoth would be cool... until it throws you off its back and then kills you by stomping on you. Yeah I'm out on that one.
ReplyDeleteI don't particularly like the idea of cloning. Sure it's cool, but playing God and messing with things we don't understand is a bad idea. But mabye resurrection could be the key to finding what really causes life and where it came from. Only time will tell.
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting and could lead to great things in the future. This could lead to the revival of other organisms that have gone extinct. People could be concerned about the ethics of bringing a species back to life but this could lead to other scientific discoveries. It would also be great if we could start mounting mammoths and riding them.
ReplyDeleteI think the idea from a scientific standpoint is amazing. I just don't like the idea though. I think once something is dead it should stay dead. Something like this could definitely bring back population diversity which would be great. Preserving the species in the first place would probably be the better way to go..
ReplyDelete