Let's Jurassic Park that shit.

This is one of the most frequent arguments (debates? discussions?) I get into with some of those closest to me. When I cannot use science without drawing 20 pictures, I try to rationalize with the ethics of doing it. Usually that's a lost cause. "C'mon, why WOULDN'T you want dinosaurs running around?! They're sweet! Remember the velociraptors??" Yes, yes I do. They gave me nightmares for weeks and made me forever terrified of industrial kitchens. 

So what about cloning these extinct creatures? Is it possible and if so, should we do it? 

First off: no, it isn't yet possible. We can and have cloned several different types of animals (wtf is a mouflon?). However, these were made from other living animals in a process that utilizes intact DNA (somatic cell nuclear transfer). Extracting DNA from fossilized species or bones is potentially possible but the DNA is typically degraded to the point of uselessness. I shouldn't say that it's useless. It can help decode parts of an extinct species' genome, which is pretty spectacular. It cannot be used to create an extinct animal park on an island in the middle of an unnamed body of water. 

Second: no, I don't believe we should do it. Even with every possible factor working out perfectly, I don't see the point of recreating species that went extinct. If we managed to get the physical animal just right, how could we possibly get the climate or environment right so that it would mature and cope in the same ways? Therefore, we couldn't study the behavior and assume it was accurate. 

Ok, you say, why not just clone those species that have recently gone extinct? Or better yet, we'll repopulate places with similar animals like Josh Donlon's insane plan to "rewild" the Midwest with African animals. Shelling out massive amounts of money just to see a woolly mammoth in the flesh seems like a gimmick. Does it ignite a small fire in the eyes of those otherwise not interested in science? Sure. But in my opinion, why not spend the resources and time we have on preventing the 6th mass extinction we're in from getting worse. Let's save, oh I don't know... salmon and mountain gorillas, for example.