A Dallas-based company claims to have successfully resurrected the dire wolf, an extinct species that last roamed the Earth over 12,500 years ago, using advanced genetic technologies.
A U.S. company, Colossal Biosciences, has announced that it has brought back the dire wolf, a species that became widely recognized due to the HBO series “Game of Thrones.” The dire wolf, which last roamed the American midcontinent during the Ice Age, has not existed for over 12,500 years.
Colossal Biosciences claims to have successfully created three dire wolves through genome-editing and cloning technologies, marking what they describe as the world’s first successful “de-extincted animal.” However, some experts argue that the company has merely genetically modified existing wolves rather than truly reviving an extinct species.
According to Colossal, the dire wolves were created using blood cells taken from a living gray wolf. The team employed CRISPR technology, which stands for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats,” to make 20 specific genetic modifications. These alterations were designed to replicate traits believed to have helped the dire wolves survive the harsh climates of the Ice Age, such as larger body sizes and longer, fuller, light-colored fur.
The ancient DNA used for these modifications was extracted from two dire wolf fossils: a tooth from Sheridan Pit, Ohio, estimated to be around 13,000 years old, and an inner ear bone from American Falls, Idaho, which is approximately 72,000 years old. The modified genetic material was then transferred into an egg cell from a domestic dog, and the embryos were implanted into surrogate dogs. After a gestation period of 62 days, the genetically engineered pups were born.
Ben Lamm, CEO of Colossal Biosciences, described the achievement as a significant milestone, emphasizing that it demonstrates the effectiveness of the company’s de-extinction technology. “It was once said, ‘any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,’” Lamm stated. “Today, our team gets to unveil some of the magic they are working on and its broader impact on conservation.”
Colossal Biosciences has previously announced similar projects aimed at genetically altering living species to resemble extinct animals, including woolly mammoths and dodos. In a recent announcement, the company also revealed the birth of two litters of cloned red wolves, the most critically endangered wolf species in the world. This development, they claim, provides evidence of their ability to conserve species through de-extinction technology.
In March, Colossal representatives met with officials from the U.S. Department of the Interior to discuss their projects. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum praised the work on social media as a “thrilling new era of scientific wonder.” However, some scientists remain skeptical about the feasibility and implications of restoring extinct species.
Corey Bradshaw, a professor of global ecology at Flinders University in Australia, expressed doubts about the claims made by Colossal Biosciences. “So yes, they have slightly genetically modified wolves, maybe, and that’s probably the best that you’re going to get,” Bradshaw remarked. “And those slight modifications seem to have been derived from retrieved dire wolf material. Does that make it a dire wolf? No. Does it make a slightly modified gray wolf? Yes. And that’s probably about it.”
Colossal Biosciences has stated that the genetically engineered wolves are currently thriving in a secure, 2,000-acre ecological preserve in Texas, which is certified by the American Humane Society and registered with the USDA. The company plans to eventually restore the species in secure ecological preserves, potentially on indigenous land.
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