Stem Cells: The Last Hope for Saving White Rhinos

Is stem cell technology the only remaining hope for saving the white rhino species? A group of scientists and zoologists from universities and zoos around the world have joined forces to try to prevent the extinction of white rhinos. Only three of these rhinos remain in the world. According to Discovery News, at a meeting held earlier this month in Vienna, scientists from Germany, the USA, Austria, and the Czech Republic presented a plan that utilizes living tissue from these three remaining rhinos in the wild. The use of stem cell technology could multiply the artificial insemination process and thus increase the reproduction of these rhinos. In this plan, gamete samples (mature and replicable sex cells) as well as pluripotent stem cells will be taken from the bodies of these three rhinos. In the future, it may be possible to cultivate stem cells into specific organs. This is the first time that stem cell technology is being used to preserve animal species. Therefore, success in this endeavor would represent a significant advancement in the conservation of species that are at risk of extinction, a process often caused by human actions. According to the Prague Post, the group of scientists and zoologists gathered in Vienna believes that the only remaining way to preserve the white rhino species is through stem cell technology. One participating Japanese scientist, Dr. Katsuko Hayashi, has successfully bred new mice from skin stem cells of laboratory mice. Now, a team of scientists from around the world is working to apply the same model to rhinos. After the death of Nola, a 41-year-old white rhino at the San Diego Zoo in the USA, and Nabir, a 32-year-old at the Prague Zoo in 2015, only three of these rhinos remain in the world. These remaining three, one male and two females, live in a protected area in Kenya. Their age and the difficulties of mating have made natural reproduction nearly impossible for these three remaining individuals. Although DNA samples from twelve white rhinos are stored in DNA banks in San Diego and Berlin, specialists are using the genetic information in this DNA to attempt to reintroduce these animals into the wild. The white rhino project has now begun, and its results are expected to be published next year.