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Scientists have reportedly brought back the Dire Wolf, a species that went extinct nearly 12,500 years ago. According to CNN, biotech company Colossal Biosciences has created two dire wolf cubs.
The dire wolf cubs Romulus and Remus were reportedly created by gene-editing technology. Colossal Biosciences took DNA samples from two dire wolf fossils dating back to 13,000 and 72,000 years and altered the genes of a gray wolf, the closest relative of the extinct animal.
The dire wolf cubs were born on October 1, 2024.
CEO Ben Lamm gave a press release on April 7, stating that this was a massive milestone for the biotech company, and they would work to bring back more extinct species.
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"This massive milestone is the first of many coming examples demonstrating that our end-to-end de-extinction technology stack works. Our team took DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull and made healthy dire wolf puppies," he said.
The official X account of Colossal Biosciences posted a clip of the dire wolf cubs howling on April 7. The tweet has now gone viral, garnering more than 128,000 likes and 28,000 reposts.
More details on the biotech company that brought back the Dire Wolf
According to its official website, Colossal Biosciences is a private bioscience and genetic engineering company based in Dallas, Texas, led by CEO Ben Lamm. It was founded in 2021. The company's Chief Science Officer is Beth Shapiro, an evolutionary molecular biologist. Paris Hilton, Tom Brady, Peter Jackson, and Chris Hemsworth are the celebrities who have invested in the company.
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, is also an advisor to the company. The company claims its goal is to bring back extinct species and "revolutionize" history.
"To revolutionize history and be the first company to use CRISPR technology successfully in the de-extinction of previously lost species," they wrote in their tweet.
Colossal Biosciences created Woolly Mice while trying to bring back Woolly Mammoth
According to a March 4 report in Time Magazine, Colossal Biosciences has been trying to bring back the Woolly Mammoth, which has been extinct for 4,000 years, since 2021. The biotech company collected the genomes of 60 mammoths in permafrost in the Arctic.
Since Asian elephants are endangered, scientists couldn't use their zygotes for mammoth stem cell experiments. Instead, they tested on mice. According to the Houston Chronicle, the mice, named Chip and Dale, grew bigger than usual and developed thick, shiny coats.
According to Time Magazine, CEO Ben Lamm released a statement on creating the woolly mouse. Calling it a "watershed moment," Lamm said they successfully recreated complex genetic combinations artificially.
"The Colossal Woolly Mouse marks a watershed moment in our de-extinction mission. By engineering multiple cold-tolerant traits from mammoth evolutionary pathways into a living model species, we've proven our ability to recreate complex genetic combinations that took nature millions of years to create," he said.
According to Colossal Biosciences' official website, their key projects include reintroducing the Woolly mammoth, Tasmanian tiger, and Dodo bird.
