Revive & Restore

Revive & Restore
Name	Revive & Restore
Founded	2012
Founder	Stewart Brand; Ben Novak
Type	Nonprofit organization
Purpose	Conservation biotechnology; de-extinction
Location	Sausalito, California
Key people	Stewart Brand; Ben Novak; Ryan Phelan

Revive & Restore

Revive & Restore is a nonprofit organization founded in 2012 focused on applying biotechnology to conservation and species recovery. The organization has been associated with high-profile initiatives and debates involving conservationists, geneticists, and policy-makers across institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University. Its activities intersect with discussions involving prominent figures and groups including Stewart Brand, Eugenie Clark, Paul Ehrlich, E.O. Wilson, and organizations like the National Park Service, World Wildlife Fund, and The Nature Conservancy.

History

Founded in 2012 by technology and environmental advocates including Stewart Brand and conservation biologists such as Ben Novak, the organization emerged amid renewed public interest in conservation genomics and debates sparked by synthetic biology conferences at institutions like MIT and Caltech. Early milestones included collaboration with museums such as the American Museum of Natural History and academic labs at Harvard University, University of California, Davis, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography to assess feasibility of using genetic tools for species recovery. The group gained public attention through projects linked to erstwhile extinct taxa discussed at forums hosted by TED, the National Geographic Society, and the Smithsonian Institution. As biotechnology methods matured at centers like Broad Institute and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the organization expanded programs and partnerships with agencies including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and universities such as Cornell University and Yale University.

Mission and Objectives

The stated mission emphasizes accelerating the use of genetic and reproductive technologies to restore endangered and extinct species and enhance biodiversity. Objectives include funding scientific research at institutions like Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, and University of Cambridge, promoting dialogue among stakeholders including IUCN, Convention on Biological Diversity, and engaging policy actors from bodies like the U.S. Congress and European Commission. The organization frames goals around measurable conservation outcomes compatible with frameworks from IPBES and principles advanced by conservationists such as Jane Goodall and David Attenborough.

Key Projects and Programs

Notable initiatives involved case studies and pilot projects concerning taxa such as the passenger pigeon, heath hen, woolly mammoth, northern white rhinoceros, and American chestnut. Work on avian recovery referenced collections at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History and genetic resources from institutions like Natural History Museum, London and American Museum of Natural History. Programs partnered with academic labs at UC Berkeley, Harvard Medical School, University of Oxford, and University of Chicago to study genomics of candidate species. Restoration-oriented field trials have been discussed with managers from Yellowstone National Park, Point Reyes National Seashore, and Channel Islands National Park, and conservation partners such as The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, and Wildlife Conservation Society.

Scientific Approaches and Technologies

The organization promotes techniques including whole-genome sequencing, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, somatic cell nuclear transfer, assisted reproductive technologies, and synthetic biology approaches developed at labs like Broad Institute, Salk Institute, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, and Wellcome Sanger Institute. Research pathways referenced comparative genomics methods used by teams at University of California, Santa Cruz and Genome Institute at Washington University, and embryology protocols informed by work at Riken and Rothamsted Research. The approaches draw on conservation genetics principles articulated by researchers at University of Minnesota, Texas A&M University, and University of Florida and intersect with cryopreservation practices from repositories like the National Animal Germplasm Program.

Partnerships and Funding

Funding and partnerships have spanned private philanthropy, foundations, academic grants, and collaborations with public institutions. Supporters and collaborators have included philanthropic entities and research funders associated with Gates Foundation, conservation philanthropies linked to Leonardo DiCaprio, academic grant programs at National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and foundations such as Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Collaborative research involved universities including UC Davis, Cornell University, Princeton University, Yale University, and international partners at University of Copenhagen and University of Melbourne. Operational coordination has engaged agencies like U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and international policy actors including IUCN and Convention on Biological Diversity.

Ethical, Legal, and Conservation Debates

The organization has been central to debates invoking ethicists, policymakers, and conservationists from institutions like Harvard University, Oxford University, University of Cambridge, and NGOs such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. Contested issues include ecological risk assessment, regulatory frameworks under bodies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency, intellectual property rights involving university tech transfer offices at Stanford University and MIT and liability considerations discussed in forums at Carnegie Institution for Science and Rockefeller University. The discourse engages canonical figures and reports from IPBES, scholars such as Michael Pollan, Peter Singer, Mary Midgley, and institutions addressing biosecurity like Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and The Hastings Center.

Category:Conservation organizations