The Bioartsociety cordially invites you to the book presentation of Britt Wray "Rise of the Necrofauna" about bringing extinct species back to life.

12th December

19:00h

FORUM BOX Ruoholahdenranta 3a 00180 Helsinki

After an introduction by Britt Wray we will join a round table discussion with Mikael Fortelius - Professor of Evolutionary Palaeontology Helsinki University, Marja Ruohonen-Lehto - Head of Unit Conservation of Species at the Finnish Environment Institute SYKE and Marta de Menezes - visual artist working with life sciences.

What happens when you try to recreate a woolly mammoth—fascinating science, or conservation catastrophe? In Rise of the Necrofauna, Britt Wray takes us deep into the minds and labs of some of the world’s most progressive thinkers to find out. She introduces us to renowned futurists like Stewart Brand and scientists like George Church, who are harnessing the powers of CRISPR gene editing in the hopes of “reviving” extinct passenger pigeons, woolly mammoths, and heath hens. Through interviews with these and other thought leaders, she reveals the many incredible opportunities for research and conservation made possible by this emerging new field. But we also hear from more cautionary voices, like those of researcher and award-winning author Beth Shapiro (How to Clone a Woolly Mammoth) and environmental philosopher Thomas van Dooren. Writing with passion and perspective, Wray reminds us that de-extinction could bring just as many dangers as it does possibilities. What happens, for example, when we bring an “unextinct” creature back into the wild? How can we care for these strange animals and ensure their comfort and safety—not to mention our own? By unpacking the many biological, technological, ethical, environmental, and legal questions raised by this fascinating new field, Wray offers a captivating look at the best and worst of resurrection science.

Britt Wray is a writer and broadcaster who crafts stories about science and its social and ethical entanglements. She is co-host of the BBC podcast Tomorrow’s World, which explores the future of science and technology, and is completing a PhD at the University of Copenhagen in science communication with a focus on synthetic biology. Wray’s first book, called Rise of the Necrofauna: The Science, Ethics and Risks of De-Extinction is about a new scientific movement that aims to “revive” extinct species as well as help endangered species on the brink (published in October 2017 by Greystone Books in partnership with the David Suzuki Institute). Wray’s narrative productions have been broadcast on several radio shows for CBC, BBC, NPR, and the Radiotopia network podcast Love and Radio. She was invited by the National Film Board of Canada to create a documentary series about personal genomics, which she is currently working on, and has been a Visiting Scholar at the NYU Arthur L. Carter Institute for Journalism.