Saving Endangered Species (Or At Least Their Tissues) With 'Frozen Zoos'

(Credit: Courtesy of San Diego Zoo)



(Inside Science) -- In 1975, medical doctor Kurt Benirschke founded the Center for the Reproduction of Endangered Species with the goal of using molecular genetics tools to save endangered species. In the corner of the modest lab, which contained a freezer with liquid nitrogen to bank cells, Benirschke hung a poster: “You must collect things for reasons you don’t yet understand.”



That credo holds true for scientists in cryobiology today. Researchers ar