A Otago University professor says extinction is forever and the moa isn't coming back.

A US genetic engineering project with backing from Peter Jackson claims it might restore the extinct South Island moa to New Zealand within a decade.

But zoology professor Philip Seddon says he's questioning the researchers' goal and whether it's even possible.

"Its genetics will be different, its physiology will be different, its behaviour will be different. There's a lot of question marks about whether a GMO version of a moa is actually going to be useful at all."

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