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ABC News
5 days ago
- Science
- ABC News
Colossal Biosciences wants to bring the moa back from extinction
Thomas and Ollie, both 15, turn to a classic 1990s sci-fi film as a point of reference when the topic of "de-extinction" is raised. "It just depends on the animal and what it can do to society, like a dinosaur — that would just not be a good thing," Thomas says. "[So] not the plot of Jurassic Park." "I think the plot of Jurassic Park would be cool," Ollie says. Marvee, 14, thinks "some things would go wrong". "I've watched Jurassic Park," she says. The film is also a conversation starter for academics such as Nic Rawlence from the University of Otago's palaeogenetics laboratory. "It's like that quote out of Jurassic Park from Malcolm … 'We were so busy thinking about whether we could, that we didn't stop to think about whether we should,'" he says. But discussions about bringing extinct animals back to life are no longer limited to the genre of science fiction. American biotech company Colossal Biosciences has recently announced plans to bring back a flightless bird from New Zealand that could grow as tall as 3.6 metres. The moa became extinct about 500 years ago due to hunting, habitat destruction and introduced predators. The company has also been working to resurrect the woolly mammoth and the Tasmanian tiger. In October last year Colossal Biosciences announced the birth of what it said were the first dire wolves to be born in more than 10,000 years. The moa project has generated excitement among followers, including director Peter Jackson, who has invested about $23 million into the project. "It has given me more enjoyment and satisfaction than any films ever have," he says. "It's uniquely a New Zealand bird, so it's something that we've always been very fascinated with." But what does it mean to "de-extinct" a species? "The process of de-extinction is that we extract DNA from ancient bones and we sequence that DNA and assemble ancient genomes," Colossal Biosciences chief science officer Beth Shapiro says. "To de-extinct the moa we are collecting DNA from all nine species of moa. "We'll be comparing the genome sequences to genomes of living birds to identify what it is that made moa unique,and using the tools of genome editing to make those changes in the DNA sequence of the living, close relatives." This definition of de-extinction is a point of contention. "De-extinction, in the strictest sense, is bringing back an animal that has been extinct, bringing it back to life," says Associate Professor Rawlence says. Dr Rawlence explains that high-quality DNA is needed for cloning to be successful. "The problem with extinct animals is that, for the most part, their DNA is really badly degraded," he says. "It's like you've taken that DNA, and you've put it in a wood-fired pizza oven at 500 degrees overnight and it comes out fragmented in shards, crumbs, dust, chemically modified." This degradation means ancient DNA is too damaged to clone. Dr Rawlence says the only way to create an animal that is similar to one that is extinct is to use genetic engineering. "So bringing back the dire wolf, you've created a genetically engineered grey wolf — you would do the same with emu and moa," he says. "A good analogy is if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. "What we have is we've got something that looks like a dire wolf, but we're not entirely sure it actually behaves like a dire wolf." Ollie worries about how the behaviour of genetically engineered animals could disrupt ecosystems. "[The moa] might not have the same behaviours as it had a long time ago," he says. "It could disrupt the food chain or it could kill other animals." Zoe, 16, agrees. "Why do we need the moa, kind of?" she asks. "It's like, what purpose does it have here? It could maybe endanger emus." Gabriel, 16, says he thinks de-extinction projects could take money away from other scientific research. "If they're just taking an emu and sort of like changing it to bring [the moa] back, I mean, what are we really going to gain from this?" he says. "I don't think it's very necessary. "There's no need to bring them [the moa] back and take money out of the science … budget as a whole." Dr Rawlence says public interest is often the key to securing investment in projects. "It's something to be said that it's easier to get funding from the private sector and celebrities to de-extinct an animal than it is to, say, genetically engineer one [an animal] so it can survive," he says. "The public aren't interested and want to hear about Jurassic Park and de-extincting animals." Dr Rawlence is opposed to de-extinction but believes the technology involved is important and should be developed to help save endangered animals. "You could use this technology to genetically engineer animals to be resistant to a disease, giving them the chance to evolve with climate change in a fast-changing world," he says. "Colossal scientists said we have a moral obligation to bring back these species and undo the sins of the past. "I'd say we need to learn from them, otherwise we're doomed to repeat them." Marvee and Zoe's feelings about the technology depend on its application. "I think it's a really good idea just helping the endangered animals at the moment, like polar bears or rhinos," Marvee says. "If it's used for commercial purposes … that'll cross the line, I reckon," Zoe says.
NZ Herald
25-05-2025
- Science
- NZ Herald
Jurassic tech: Company claims the dire wolf is ‘de-extinct', but is it ethical?
The biotech company, backed by big-name investors and celebrities alike, has a goal to bring back the likes of the woolly mammoth, the Tasmanian tiger, the northern white rhino and the dodo. But, even if it's successful, is it right? And, have we learned anything from the happenings in Jurassic Park? University of Otago department of zoology associate professor Nic Rawlence told The Front Page he challenges the term 'de-extinction'. 'The technology they've developed is stunning and will have very real-world conservation benefits, but it's not de-extinction. This is a genetically modified, designer grey wolf. 'If you think of all the individual DNA letters in a genome, which are millions and millions of them, they've only done 20 modifications to that genome. It's only a small number of modifications. But, if we think of functional de-extinction, all they've got is something that looks like a dire wolf,' he said. SOUND ON. You're hearing the first howl of a dire wolf in over 10,000 years. Meet Romulus and Remus—the world's first de-extinct animals, born on October 1, 2024. The dire wolf has been extinct for over 10,000 years. These two wolves were brought back from extinction using… — Colossal Biosciences® (@colossal) April 7, 2025 Even if it were possible to bring back a species, Rawlence said, the ecosystem it was part of no longer exists. 'If you try to de-extinct a moa, New Zealand's only got 25% forest cover. At the time of human arrival, it was 80% forest cover... Central Otago, for example, used to be covered in lancewood and kōwhai, which is weird to think of, but there's no analogue of that anywhere. 'So you haven't got the ecosystems for these animals to go back into. A lot of the ecosystems have been highly modified, they're full of predators. But, also, if you are gonna introduce animals into an ecosystem, you need them to be genetically healthy, not inbred. Think Tutankhamun married his sister, the Habsburgs out of Europe, or even Queen Victoria married her cousin. 'For a population to be genetically healthy, you need at least 500 individuals, which is a very tall order indeed,' he said. The technology could instead be used in ongoing conservation efforts, Rawlence said. 'You could use it to reintroduce lost genetic variation back into kākāpō or takahē so that they have the evolutionary potential to respond to ongoing climate change or diseases. In kākāpō, you've got aspergillosis, lung fungus, or crusty bum. 'So we could use that technology to help what we've got rather than, in my view, assuaging human guilt for causing extinctions.' In Colossal Bioscience's efforts to de-extinct the woolly mammoth, it has bred genetically modified mice with mammoth-inspired traits, such as woolly coats and cold tolerance. The company says the loss of these large, cold-tolerant mammoths over the past 10,000 years has stripped the ecosystem of the Siberian tundra – a grassland that once efficiently absorbed carbon. 'If the mammoth steppe ecosystem could be revived, it could help in reversing the rapid warming of the climate and more pressingly, protect the Arctic's permafrost – one of the world's largest carbon reservoirs,' its website says. 'How many hundreds of millions of dollars are you going to have to spend to bring back enough mammoths to trample Siberia? It won't be 500 mammoths, it's probably gonna be thousands. I think the money's better spent elsewhere,' Rawlence said. 'Sometimes conservation can be sexy, kākāpō or takahē, but often the non-sexy species are the ones that are just as highly endangered, and trying to get money is a lot easier if people are investing in something akin to Jurassic Park.' Listen to the full episode to hear more about whether we've learned anything from Jurassic Park and which 'un-sexy' species need the most help.
BBC News
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Sabi pipo no agree say dire wolf don come back from extinction
One ogbonge snow white wolf bin dey on top di cover of Time Magazine today togeda wit headline wey announce say di dire wolf don come back. Di dire wolf wey now dey extinct get serious popularity afta e show for di Game of Thrones. But na real animal wey bin exist ova 10,000 years ago and dey waka across di Americas. One company wey dem dey call Colossal Bioscience na dem cause di headlines as dem say dem use "deft genetic engineering and olden days DNS" take breed three dire wolf to take "de-extinct" di species. But even though di young wolves wey dem name Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi na proof of ogbonge technological breakthrough, independent sabi pipo tok say no be dire wolves dem be. Zoologist Philip Seddon from di University of Otago for New Zealand explain say di animals na "genetically modified grey wolves". Colossal reveal dia efforts come outside say dem dey use cutting edge genetic techniques to take bring back extinct animals like di woollt mammoth and di Tasmanian tiger. But sabi pipo don torchlight important biological differneces between di wolf for di cover of di Time and di dire wolf wey bin fry roam and hunt for di last ice age. Paleogeneticist Dr Nic Rawlence, we also be from Otago University, explain how di ancient dire wolf DNA wey dem comot from fossil remains bin dey too degraded and damaged to fir biologically copy or clone. Dr Rawlence tell BBC News say, "ancient DNA be like if you put fresh DNA for inside 500 degree oven overnight. E go comot fragmented like shards and dust. You fit reconstruct am but e no go dey good enough to do any oda tin wit." E add say instead di de-extinction team use new synthetic biology technology wey snip pieces of DNA and insert dem to genetic code of living animal wey still get dia full bological blueprint in tact, in dis case dem use grey wolf. Dr Rawlence say, "so wetin Colossal don produce na grey wolf, but e get some dire wolf like characteristics like bigger skull and white fur. Na hybrid." Dr Beth Shapiro, wey be biologist from Colossal Biosciences say dis work represent de-extinction wey she tok say mea recreating animals wit di same characteristics. "Grey wolf na di closest living relative of dire wolf, genetically dem dey very similar so we target DNA sequences wey lead to dire wolf traits and den edit grey wolf cells... den we clone those cells and create our dire wolves." According ot Dr Rawlence sha, dire wolves comot from grey wolves anywia between 2.5 to six million years ago. E ok say, "na completely different genus to grey wolves. Colossal compare di genomes of di dire wolf and di grey wolf and from about 19,000 genes, dem determine say di 20 changes for 14 genes give dem dire wolf." Di edited embryos bin dey implanted inside surrogate domestic dog mamas. According to di article for di Time, all three wolves bin dey born wit planned C-section to fit minimise risk of complication. Colossal wey bin dey valued at $10bn for January dey keep di wolves for private 2,000-acre facility for one undisclosed location for northern US. Las-las sha, di pups resemble weti many pipo dey tink of wen dem tok about dire-wolf and di tori don gada global attention. So wetin come make dis scientific distinction to dey important? Dr Rawlence tell BBC News say "na bicos extiction still be forever. If we no get extinction how we go take learn from our mistakes? "Di message now don turn sat we fit destroy di environment, and say animals fit go extinct but we go fit bring dem back?"
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Experts dispute claims dire wolf brought back from extinction
There is a magnificent, snow-white wolf on the cover of Time Magazine today - accompanied by a headline announcing the return of the dire wolf. This now extinct species is possibly most famous for its fictional role in Game of Thrones, but it did exist - more than 10,000 years ago - when it roamed across the Americas. The company Colossal Biosciences is behind today's headlines. It announced that it used "deft genetic engineering and ancient DNA" to breed three dire wolf puppies and to "de-extinct" the species. But while the young wolves - Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi - represent an impressive technological breakthrough, independent experts say they are not actually dire wolves. Zoologist Philip Seddon from the University of Otago in New Zealand explained the animals are "genetically modified grey wolves". Colossal publicised its efforts to use similar cutting edge genetic techniques to bring back extinct animals including the woolly mammoth and the Tasmanian tiger. Meanwhile experts have pointed to important biological differences between the wolf on the cover of Time and the dire wolf that roamed and hunted during the last ice age. Paleogeneticist Dr Nic Rawlence, also from Otago University, explained how ancient dire wolf DNA - extracted from fossilised remains - is too degraded and damaged to biologically copy or clone. "Ancient DNA is like if you put fresh DNA in a 500 degree oven overnight," Dr Rawlence told BBC News. "It comes out fragmented - like shards and dust. "You can reconstruct [it], but it's not good enough to do anything else with." Instead, he added, the de-extinction team used new synthetic biology technology - snipping out pieces of DNA and inserting them into the genetic code of a living animal that has its entire biological blueprint in tact, in this case a grey wolf. "So what Colossal has produced is a grey wolf, but it has some dire wolf-like characteristics, like a larger skull and white fur," said Dr Rawlence. "It's a hybrid." Dr Beth Shapiro, a biologist from Colossal Biosciences, said that this feat does represent de-extinction, which she described as recreating animals with the same characteristics. "A grey wolf is the closest living relative of a dire wolf - they're genetically really similar - so we targeted DNA sequences that lead to dire wolf traits and then edited grey wolf cells... then we cloned those cells and created our dire wolves." According to Dr Rawlence though, dire wolves diverged from grey wolves anywhere between 2.5 to six million years ago. "It's in a completely different genus to grey wolves," he said. "Colossal compared the genomes of the dire wolf and the grey wolf, and from about 19,000 genes, they determined that 20 changes in 14 genes gave them a dire wolf." The edited embryos were implanted in surrogate domestic dog mothers. According to the article in Time, all three wolves were born by planned caesarean section to minimise the risk of complications. Colossal, which was valued at $10bn (£7.8bn) in January, is keeping the wolves on a private 2,000-acre facility at an undisclosed location in the northern US. The pups certainly look like many people's vision of a dire wolf and the story has gathered global attention. So why is this scientific distinction important? "Because extinction is still forever," Dr Rawlence told BBC News. "If we don't have extinction, how are we going to learn from our mistakes? "Is the message now that we can go and destroy the environment and that animals can go extinct, but we can bring them back?"
BBC News
08-04-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Experts dispute Colossal claim dire wolf back from extinction
There is a magnificent, snow-white wolf on the cover of Time Magazine today - accompanied by a headline announcing the return of the dire now extinct species is possibly most famous for its fictional role in Game of Thrones, but it did exist - more than 10,000 years ago - when it roamed across the company Colossal Biosciences is behind today's headlines. It announced that it used "deft genetic engineering and ancient DNA" to breed three dire wolf puppies and to "de-extinct" the while the young wolves - Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi - represent an impressive technological breakthrough, independent experts say they are not actually dire wolves. Zoologist Philip Seddon from the University of Otago in New Zealand explained: "They are genetically modified grey wolves".Colossal describes itself as "the world's first and only de-extinction company". It has publicised its efforts to use similar cutting edge genetic techniques in its plan to bring back extinct animals including the woolly mammoth and the Tasmanian there are significant biological differences between the wolf on the cover of Time and the dire wolf that roamed and hunted during the last ice company has not cloned a dire wolf, explained paleogeneticist Dr Nic Rawlence, also from Otago University. Ancient dire wolf DNA - extracted from fossilised remains - is too degraded and damaged to biologically copy - or clone."Ancient DNA is like if you put fresh DNA in a 500 degree oven overnight," Dr Rawlence told BBC News. "It comes out fragmented - like shards and dust."You can can reconstruct [it], but it's not good enough to do anything else with."Instead, he added "you have to use new synthetic biology technology". That means snipping out pieces of DNA and inserting them into the genetic code of a living animal that has its entire biological blueprint in tact."So what Colossal has produced is a grey wolf, but it has some dire wolf-like characteristics, like a larger skull and white fur," said Dr Rawlence. "It's a hybrid."Dr Beth Shapiro, a biologist from Colossal Biosciences, said that this feat does represent de-extinction, which she described as recreating animals with the same characteristics. "A grey wolf is the closest living relative of a dire wolf - they're genetically really similar - so we targeted DNA sequences that lead to dire wolf traits and then edited grey wolf cells... then we cloned those cells and created our dire wolves." The edited embryos were implanted in surrogate domestic dog mothers, which gave birth to the three now famous which was valued at $10bn (£7.8bn) in January, is keeping the wolves on a private 2,000-acre facility at an undisclosed location in the northern pups certainly look like many people's vision of a dire wolf and the story has gathered global attention. So why is this scientific distinction important?"Because extinction is still forever," Dr Rawlence told BBC News. "If we don't have extinction, how are we going to learn from our mistakes?"Is the message now that we can go and destroy the environment and that animals can go extinct, but we can bring them back?"
