The heath hen, which once was an important food source for early settlers, is now the subject of a genomic study being conducted as a first step in the possible resurrection of the extinct species. Jeff Johnson, associate professor of biology and project coordinator, is working with more than a dozen scientists to revive the species and reintroduce it back into the landscape where it once existed. The process would involve the use of gene editing technology to exchange unique genomic regions between the extinct heath hen and its closest living relative, creating offspring more similar to the heath hen. Similar methods also are being explored to supplement genomic diversity in endangered species like the Attwater's prairie-chicken in Texas.