Did Colossal Biosciences Really Bring Back the Dire Wolf? Experts Weigh In on “De-Extinction” Claims
DALLAS — Just weeks ago, headlines blared the triumphant return of the dire wolf, a creature extinct for 12,000 years. Dallas-based genetics startup Colossal Biosciences announced it had successfully “resurrected” the iconic predator,calling it “the world’s first de-extinction” and “a revolutionary milestone of scientific progress.” Conservationists lauded the achievement,with American Humane Society CEO Robin R. Ganzert gushing on Colossal’s website that it could make “extinction events a thing of the past.”
But as quickly as the fanfare rose, a wave of skepticism followed. Experts in the genetics community are now questioning weather the three animals produced in Colossal’s laboratory and housed at an undisclosed preserve are,in fact,dire wolves,or simply modern grey wolves with minor genetic alterations.”The three produced gray wolves with fifteen gene edits making them genetically a smidge more like dire wolves are not a de-extinction event,” argues Paul S. Knoepfler, a cell biology and human anatomy expert at UC Davis medical school.Knoepfler went further in a blog post, calling Colossal’s claims “colossal baloney” and warning that “this kind of hype is toxic and harmful to science including public trust.”
Colossal Biosciences, co-founded by software entrepreneur ben Lamm and Harvard and MIT geneticist George Church, dismisses the criticism as a “distraction” from its scientific goals and achievements. “Everybody just wanted to argue what to call these things,” Lamm said. “No one got deep into the science of how we created new models for ancient DNA extraction.”
The company’s initial announcement was accompanied by a media blitz.Time magazine featured one of the pups, named Remus, on the cover of its May 12 issue under the headline “This is Remus. He’s a dire wolf. The first to exist in over 10,000 years.” Good Morning America also aired a segment, introducing the story as “‘Jurassic Park’ meets ‘Game of Thrones’!”
That kind of presentation risks undermining careful scientific assessment. “A website is marketing,” Lamm acknowledged. “It’s not a scientific paper. It hasn’t gone through peer review.”
Colossal’s efforts involved extracting DNA from a fossilized dire wolf tooth found in Idaho and an ear bone from Ohio.Those samples were then used to edit 14 genes in the genome of a gray wolf. The resulting embryos were implanted in dogs as surrogate mothers, resulting in the birth of three pups.The company has other “de-extinction” projects in the works, including the woolly mammoth, the dodo bird, and the Tasmanian tiger. Colossal says its goals include restoring these species to their ancient ecosystems to enhance biodiversity.
However, the choice of the dire wolf as the first “de-extinction” success has raised eyebrows, especially given its popularity in pop culture. George R.R.Martin, author of the Game of Thrones series, is an investor and advisor to Colossal, and is credited with “review and editing” on a company paper describing the project. One of Colossal’s “dire wolves” is named Khaleesi, a game of Thrones character, while the other two are named Romulus and Remus, after the founders of Rome who were raised by a she-wolf.
While the Colossal animals are depicted as snowy white in promotional materials, fossil evidence suggests that real dire wolves had dark fur and were about the size of large dogs or wolves, not the size of lions or horses as portrayed in Game of Thrones.
The question remains: what has Colossal Biosciences actually accomplished? While the company has undoubtedly advanced the science of genetic recovery and editing, some experts beleive its claims are overstated.
“The dire wolf genome likely differs from that of the gray wolf in millions or tens of millions of ways,” Knoepfler said. “Editing 14 genes is engaging, but it’s not a reconstruction or de-extinction. It’s not even close.”
One compelling counterargument comes from the field of conservation genetics. Some scientists contend that even if the “de-extincted” animals aren’t perfect replicas, they could still contribute positively to ecosystems. For example, a “proxy” for the woolly mammoth, even if not genetically identical, could potentially help restore grasslands in Siberia by trampling brush and distributing seeds, thus sequestering carbon and combating climate change.
Colossal aims to market biodiversity credits to other companies, similar to how Tesla sells environmental regulatory credits to automakers lacking a zero-emission footprint.
The debate underscores the complex ethical and ecological considerations surrounding “de-extinction.” Biologist Beth Shapiro, Colossal’s chief science officer, raised many of these issues in her 2015 book, “How to Clone a Mammoth.” concerns include the potential revival of dangerous pathogens, the lack of suitable habitats for resurrected species, and the possibility that de-extinction projects could undermine existing conservation efforts.
Former Interior Secretary Doug Burgum even cited Colossal’s dire wolf project in a tweet, advocating that we “fundamentally change how we think about species conservation… The only thing we’d like to see go extinct is the need for an endangered species list to exist.”
And Colossal asserts that what it’s done is close enough to meet the goal of enhancing biodiversity. but how a restored species could fit into an ecosystem or habitat that has little or nothing in common with the world it once inhabited is an open question.
The “dire wolf affair” serves as a cautionary tale about the influence of marketing on scientific progress. “The very credulous way in which the media was essentially acting as an effective PR arm for Colossal was really shocking to me,” said Jacquelyn Gill, a paleoecologist at the University of Maine.
FAQ: Dire Wolves and De-Extinction
What is “de-extinction?” De-extinction refers to the process of reviving extinct species, typically through genetic engineering.
Is Colossal Biosciences’ dire wolf truly a dire wolf? Many experts dispute this, arguing that the animals are genetically modified gray wolves, not true revivals of the extinct species. What are the potential benefits of “de-extinction?” Proponents argue that it could restore damaged ecosystems, enhance biodiversity, and advance genetic research.
What are the ethical concerns surrounding “de-extinction?” Concerns include the potential for unforeseen ecological consequences, the welfare of resurrected animals, and the distraction from existing conservation efforts.
* How much is Colossal Biosciences worth? After its latest round of venture funding, Colossal’s private market value was about $10.2 billion.
