1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: Now do you remember when Truva Maler made that joke 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: years ago right about about bringing them more back to 3 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:06,440 Speaker 1: life and we gave them a grief, really hard time 4 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:08,080 Speaker 1: for it. They're actually trying to do it and it's 5 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:11,160 Speaker 1: got the financial support of Sir Peter Jackson. Paul Schofield. 6 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: Doctor Paul Scofield is the senior Curator of Natural History 7 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:18,599 Speaker 1: Canterbury Museum and is with us morning. Paul. Now, these guys, 8 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:20,599 Speaker 1: this American company, reckon that they can do it in 9 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:21,720 Speaker 1: ten years. Are they dreaming? 10 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:25,160 Speaker 2: No, not at all. I mean they're well on the way, 11 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 2: to be honest. They've got an incredible technology, huge group 12 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:34,599 Speaker 2: of staff, and they've got the backing of Notathas, who 13 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:37,440 Speaker 2: is a NATO research center here in Canterbury. 14 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:40,880 Speaker 1: How would it work? I mean would what what would 15 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 1: we end up with? Would it be an actual MORE 16 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:45,040 Speaker 1: or would be a modern take on the More. 17 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 2: It'll be a modern take on the MA, but it'll 18 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:51,800 Speaker 2: be it'll be a moa because Noli say it's a 19 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 2: mala where we will take the DNA of these extinct 20 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 2: birds that we get from pay is like swamps and 21 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:08,479 Speaker 2: caves and by sequencing hundreds of genomes we will determine 22 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 2: exactly what makes ama a morea all the genes which 23 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 2: actually fundamentally define that giant bird with its bizarre plumage 24 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 2: and its complete lack of a wing, and we will 25 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:31,840 Speaker 2: engineer that into the cells of an emu or potentially 26 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 2: even a tinemu, which is as closest relative of South 27 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 2: American birth, and we'll bring back something that we will 28 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:42,280 Speaker 2: believe is as close to ama as possible. 29 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: So, so, will it look like a moo? Will it 30 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:45,119 Speaker 1: look like an em. 31 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:50,120 Speaker 2: No, it'll look exactly like a molla. Oh wow. And 32 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:53,640 Speaker 2: you know it'll be ancesary a process. It will take 33 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 2: that the first our first take on it will be 34 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 2: in ten years time. All so, but as we discover 35 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:05,360 Speaker 2: more and more about their their genome, we'll we'll get 36 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 2: closer and closer to the real thing. 37 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: And then what's the end goal, At some stage decades 38 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:12,520 Speaker 1: from now, you have enough of actual more to be 39 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: able to leave them to themselves and they breed and 40 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 1: carry on. 41 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, in the first instance, it's an amazing eco 42 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 2: tourism opportunity for Nahoe to actually have a large preserve 43 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 2: somewhere in the northern part of the South Island, probably 44 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 2: where for paid tourism we can actually have people come 45 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:41,239 Speaker 2: in and actually see mower blooming the hills. And it's 46 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 2: also an amazing opportunity for ecology and for science to 47 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:49,280 Speaker 2: actually have the opportunity to see how these giant birds 48 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 2: actually affected the e college of New Zealand when we 49 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 2: get when we go out into the forest today, it's 50 00:02:56,639 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 2: really only a fact similar of what the forest will 51 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:05,400 Speaker 2: like eight hundred years ago than first Maldi arrived, because 52 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 2: in fact, these birds are giant ecosystem engineers. They're actually 53 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 2: fundamentally changing the way that the forest is actually structured, 54 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:17,400 Speaker 2: and that we have some inkling into how they actually 55 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:19,320 Speaker 2: did that and what I think that they actually had. 56 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:23,359 Speaker 2: Actually having the real thing out there in the forest 57 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:27,280 Speaker 2: will be actually incredibly informative to our understanding of museum 58 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 2: and conservation and ecology. 59 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, fascinating stuff. Hey, Paul, thank you so much for 60 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: talking us through at Doctor Paul Scofield, Senior Curator of 61 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 1: Natural History, Canterbury Museum. For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, 62 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 1: listen live to news talks that'd be from six am weekdays, 63 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:42,840 Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.