- Joined
- Sep 2, 2024
Colossal Biosciences is a fan of Jurassic Park, that seeks to revive existing species through genetic engineering. Specifically, it uses a species' closest relative and incorporates the genes of the animal it seeks to rescue from extinction. This company has been criticized for its methods, as they are actually performing genetic imitation. Instead of reviving species that existed less than 50 years ago and whose ecosystems are still valid and which are not the focus of its conservation project, they attempt to revive animals whose habitats no longer exist and which could lead to natural collapse, mistakenly comparing themselves to fictional films like the aforementioned Jurassic Park. However, this doesn't help one of its great inventors to be in favor of human genetic engineering.
Animal de-extinction
Colossal is also working on the conservation of endangered species, such as Asian and African elephants, using similar technologies to improve their resistance to disease. They have also mentioned interest in other extinct species, such as the thylacine (Tasmanian tiger), although this is not a current priority.
Aenocyon dirus
For their de-extinction, they extracted ancient DNA from fossils: a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull found in the U.S. Using CRISPR technology, they edited 20 loci in 14 genes of the gray wolf genome to introduce dire wolf traits, such as larger size (20-25% larger than a gray wolf), white fur, robust jaws, and muscular legs, dire wolves cannot reproduce because there is no genetic diversity, which would lead to their extinction again.
The criticisms leveled at this are valid. To begin with, it's obviously not a true denigration because with current technology it's impossible. But the problem isn't that experts, such as Vincent Lynch and the IUCN Canid Specialist Group, argue that these wolves are not true dire wolves, but rather genetic hybrids, since the genome is 99.9% gray wolf with only a few modifications. No peer-reviewed studies have been published, which generates skepticism in the scientific community about the validity of Colossal's claims. Furthermore, the exact genomes that were modified have not been published and remain private.
Although they may seem as fake as they may seem, you have to admit that they are very pretty.
Dodo
The dodo genome has been sequenced at 50x coverage using DNA from a skull at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, led by Beth Shapiro, Colossal's chief scientist, along with Tom Gilbert and John Fjeldså.
Using CRISPR, they plan to edit primordial germ cells from pigeon embryos to express dodo traits, then inject them into surrogate bird eggs (such as pigeons or chickens) to produce chimeric offspring that could lay dodo-like eggs.
It is unknown when the first eggs will be produced, but the estimate is 2030. There have been no significant updates.
Mammoth
The company has made intermediate advances to keep innovators and the public happy, such as in 2024. The team converted Asian elephant cells into iPSCs, which can differentiate into any cell type, including eggs and sperm. This breakthrough is crucial for modeling mammoth phenotypes, facilitating gene editing, and eventually creating embryos without relying solely on cloning. In 2025, woolly mice were genetically engineered to express characteristics of the woolly mammoth's coat, such as long, thick, curly, reddish-golden fur, adapted to the cold. This "Colossal Woolly Mouse" was achieved by simultaneously altering up to seven genes, including the Mc1r gene (for fur color) and others such as Fgf5 and Fam83g (for length and texture).
Colossal expects the first Mammoths by 2028.
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colossalbiosciences@gmail.com
