I work in biotech, and effectively the entire field is rifling through Nature’s LEGO bin to find the parts it needs. There’s a weird overlap happening here of environmental collapse at the same moment that we’re learning just how rich that diversity is, what it means, how to use it. Hell, transgenic rices and grains - the engine of the green revolution - were all remixed landrace species, which are in danger now of being replaced by monocrops.
The loss of species is a tragedy because it’s a tragedy, but it’s also a tragedy because we’re destroying our inheritance at an alarming rate before we ever really get to see what it is or what it could be. Billions of years of prior art, gone.
The loss of species is a tragedy because it’s a tragedy, but it’s also a tragedy because we’re destroying our inheritance at an alarming rate before we ever really get to see what it is or what it could be. Billions of years of prior art, gone.