Scientists will soon attempt the scientific equivalent of a religious miracle: bringing an extinct animal species back to life.

Scientists at Revive & Restore, a San Francisco based non-profit organization dedicated to species "de-extinction," said they will attempt to use genetic engineering techniques to create new, living specimens of the passenger pigeon that became extinct in 1914.

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Also called the wild pigeon with the scientific name of Ectopistes Migratorius, the passenger pigeon was once the most abundant bird in the world and has accounted for more than a quarter of all birds in North America.

Researchers at Revive & Restore said they have collected DNA samples from passenger pigeons preserved in a number of museums. Their goal is to create live passengers pigeons in a laboratory.

Revive & Restore said its mission is to enhance biodiversity through the genetic rescue of endangered and extinct species.

Its experiment to "de-extinct" the passenger pigeon would breed band-tailed pigeons, a living relative of the passenger pigeon. It will then engineer their DNA using the collected passenger pigeon genetic material and transfer it into the genomes of the band tailed bird.

"The effort could take at least 10 years," said Ben Novak, a Revive & Restore researcher.

He noted that with many animal and bird species in the world on the edge of extinction, there is reason to attempt bringing back at least this one.

The extinction of the passenger pigeon was extremely quick and dramatic. The species lived in massive migratory flocks until the early 20th century, when hunting and habitat destruction led to its extinction.

No passenger pigeon was left alive in the wild by 1900. The last surviving passenger pigeon named Martha died in 1914 at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.

The goal of "The Great Passenger Pigeon Comeback" being undertaken by Revive & Restore is to bring the passenger pigeon all the way back using the genome of the band-tailed pigeon and state-of-the-art genomic technology.

Revive & Restore believes the passenger pigeon is a compelling choice for de-extinction. It said that in developing how science approaches de-extinction, a series of criteria for a de-extinction candidate has emerged.

According to this criteria, the passenger pigeon offers relative technical practicality for the scientific work of de-extinction. The firm believes the passenger pigeon is a model species poised at the optimal middle ground of ease and difficulty.

TagsDe-extinction, Passenger Pigeon, Genetic Engineering, Revive & Restore