Colossal Biosciences says he uses genetic engineering to recreate animals such as mammoth, dodo and tiger-of-tasmania; Scientists question results
Responsible for disclosing on Monday (7.ab.2025) 3-puppies images that would be terrible wolves, an extinguished species for over 10,000 years, says it works to recreate 3 other extinguished species: o mammotho tiger and the dodo.
According to the American biotechnology company, the process already done involved the modification of modern wolf cells with genetic information obtained from fossils. Then cloning techniques were applied to raise the puppies.
Read below the next projects of Colossal Biosciences:
Mammoth
The dollar mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) lived in the northern hemisphere during the Pleistocene period and disappeared about 4,000 years ago. A relative close to the elephants was adapted to the cold climate, with dense coat, subcutaneous fat and curved fangs used to dig under snow.
Now, Colossal seeks to create a “Cold resistant elephant” When inserting mammoth genes into the eousist elephant genome, his even closer relative. The idea is to introduce characteristics such as insulating fat, thick and cold tolerance, creating a hybrid capable of surviving in Arctic regions.
Tiger
The tiger-of-tasmania (Thylacinus cynocephalus), also known as Tilacino, was a native carnivorous marsupial of Tasmania, Continental Australia and New Guinea. Was declared extinguished in 1936.
The company intends to “relive” the species through the genetic edition of living marsupials with tilacin DNA preserved in museums. Scientists use the genome of dunnart or from Numbattheir closest living relatives, and plan to use substitute mothers to create embryos.
Dodo
Already the dodo (Raphus hooded) It was a land bird that lived on the island of Maurício, in the Indian Ocean. It was extinguished in the late 17th century, a few decades after the arrival of humans in the region. Hunting, habitat destruction and introduction of predators such as rats and pigs – eggs – were the main factors of extinction.
To bring the species back, Colossal states it is rebuilding the genome of Dodo from DNA fragments compared to that of still existing pigeons, such as the nicobar pigeon. The strategy involves editing pigeon embryos with genetic characteristics of Dodô, with the aim of creating a modern version of the extinct bird.
The company says the return of Dodo can help in the recovery of Mauricio ecosystems, promoting the dispersion of seeds and increasing local biodiversity.
Scientists criticize
The puppies that would be-terrible wolves were born in October 2024: 2 males, Romulus and Remus, and a female named Khaleesi-a name inspired by the TV series “Game of Thrones”where the species appears as a fictitious animal. They have 20 genetic changes in 14 genes, which affect body size, skull shape and white coat color.
Despite the enthusiasm of the colossal, part of the scientific community questions the results. Experts indicate that the animals presented cannot be considered true-terrible wolves, as this extinct species and the current sink wolf are separated by millions of years of evolution and significant genetic differences.
“This animal is not an intersected wolf, and it is not correct to say that it has been brought back from extinction. It is a modified senior wolf […] Twenty genetic changes are far from enough. At most, we have an unusual-looking wolf ”said Anders Bergström, professor at the University of East Anglia and expert in canids evolution, to MIT (Institute of Massachusetts Technology).
