University of Applied Arts Vienna graduate Ege Ko?kel has envisioned what life would be like if bio-technologies were used to bring back dodos, as a comment on the impact of de-extinction research.
Called Dodo in the Room, the project comprises an origami-like model of a dodo, a dodo muzzle, a "catalogue" of the dodos on offer as pets and three dodo eggs.
It imagines a hypothetical scenario when dodos have been brought back to life using bio-technologies.

"The use of new bio-technologies to bring back extinct species has been, and still is, a widely discussed topic," said Ko?kel. "While science fiction has already over-worked this fantasy, it has become more than just fiction."
"Researchers are making more and more progress, especially in the first steps of de-extinction," she continued. "However the steps after bringing back the extinct species are less explored, but equally important." "Captive breeding and return to the wild are ideals of de-extinction but are there other possibilities which we have to consider, avoid or cherish"" she continued.

"De-extinction is one of the most popular topics in synthetic biology," said Ko?kel.
"It gets a good amount of attention from the media when there is a related scientific development, however most of the time the headlines feature extremely polarised voices ? it is communicated either as a great problem solver or as a complete disaster."

The d...