Evaluation of General Sources

This blog will examine two different sources with the topic of animal cloning and de-extinction. De-extinction is basically animal cloning for extinct animals.

The Plan to Turn Elephants Into Woolly Mammoths Is Already Underway

URL - This website has a .com domain. This is short for commercial and is the most widely recognized domain. 

Author - Jason Koebler is a science journalist at Motherboard. He can be found on Twitter, Reddit, and LinkedIn.

Last Updated - This article was last updated on March 26, 2014 at 10:09pm. There are a total of 9 external links within this article. All of the hyperlinks and videos still work.

Purpose - The text has both pro cloning / de-extinction points and anti cloning / de-extinction. However, the ending of the article does give the impression that this author is more on the pro side of the argument.

Graphics - Other than ads, there are 2 graphics on this page: a picture of a woolly mammoth and a TED Talk video. The woolly mammoth picture ties in with a story in the article about scientist being close to being able to "clone" a woolly mammoth from frozen preserved DNA. The TED Talk video is Stewart Brand's talk during the TEDxDe-Extinction segment where Revive and Restore had a day conference on de-extinction. 

Position on Subject - This article seems to have a pretty good grasp on supplying the reader with unbiased information. Looking further into the author and his credentials, being a science journalist, it is possible he is pro cloning / de-extinction.

Links - I gathered 14 separate websites ranging from essays / articles to videos (TED Talks) and a lot of the links within this article circulate between a lot of these websites. Since de-extinction and cloning are such a new rapidly growing concept there are a few stories that popularly circulate throughout the science community.

GorissenM. "Woolly Mammoth" 12/01/2012 via flickr. Attricution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

Controversies About Cloning

URL - This link is also a .com domain.

Author - The author of this piece is Dr. Katrin Hinrichs. Dr. Hinrichs received her undergraduate degree in Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis. She received her Ph. D in Comparative Biomed Science from the University of Pennsylvania.

Last Updated - The last revision of Dr. Hinrichs piece was in November of 2013.

Purpose - The purpose of this piece is to point out the negative aspects of cloning animals including the cost, the ethical question, and human health concerning the consumption of cloned animals.

Graphics - There are no graphics on this page.

Position on Subject - Dr. Hinrichs seems to be anti-cloning. There are no hyperlinks or external links which leads me to believe the whole piece is from a personal point of view. 

Links - There are no links on this page.

ICK9S [M. H. Stephens]. "The Clone" 11/01/2006 via flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic