{"id":3443,"date":"2025-04-09T12:54:30","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T12:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/04\/09\/a-10b-gene-editing-startup-has-sort-of-brought-back-the-dire-wolf\/"},"modified":"2025-04-09T12:54:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T12:54:37","slug":"a-10b-gene-editing-startup-has-sort-of-brought-back-the-dire-wolf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/04\/09\/a-10b-gene-editing-startup-has-sort-of-brought-back-the-dire-wolf\/","title":{"rendered":"A $10B Gene-Editing Startup Has (Sort of) Brought Back the Dire Wolf"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Romulus and Remus pictured at one-month-old. Courtesy Colossal Biosciences<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What weighs 80 pounds, relies on a daily diet of beef, deer and horse meat, and displays a distinctly snowy fur coat? The answer, according to the Texas-based Colossal Biosciences<\/a>, is a six-month-old dire wolf, a canine species that has been extinct for more than 12,000 years. But scientists have a different name for the three wolf pups that Colossal has managed to breed after genetically engineering ancient dire wolf DNA into genomes<\/a> of grey wolves, their closest living relatives.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think that maybe \u2018dirish\u2019 wolves might be the best way to describe them,\u201d Hank Greely<\/a>, a bioscience expert and law professor at Stanford University, told Observer. \u201cIt\u2019s a grey wolf with some genes modified in the dire wolf direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colossal\u2019s wolf litter includes Romulus and Remus, two six-month-old male pups, and a female two-month-old pup named Khaleesi. They were born to surrogates after Colossal extracted ancient DNA from a dire wolf tooth and inner ear bone fossil and made 20 edits to grey wolf genomes to imbue them with dire wolf traits. As opposed to their smaller counterparts, dire wolves were around 25 percent larger and known for their pale coats, strong jaws and wide heads, said the startup, which claims to have brought back \u201cthe world\u2019s first successfully de-extincted animal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Genetically, the pups aren\u2019t true dire wolves. But do they represent a successful step forward for Colossal, which was founded in 2021 by geneticist George Church<\/a> and entrepreneur Ben Lamm<\/a> with a mission of reviving long-extinct species. Up until now, the startup\u2019s work has largely centered around ambitious projects to bring back the woolly mammoth, dodo bird and thyacline or Tasmanian tiger.<\/p>\n

Using its gene-editing technology on dire wolves was a smart decision, according to Greely. For one thing, a wolf\u2019s gestation period is just over two months, whereas that of an Asian elephant\u2014the closest living relative to the woolly mammoth\u2014is a staggering 22 months. On the whole, the complications Colossal will have to tackle with woolly mammoth surrogates are far greater. \u201cWe understand wolf reproduction and dog reproduction a lot better than elephant or mammoth reproduction,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

It also helps that the general public has become familiarized with the appearance of dire wolves through the HBO series Game of Thrones<\/em>\u2014a fact that is not lost on Colossal, which named its female wolf cub after one of the show\u2019s main characters.<\/p>\n

In fact, George R.R. Martin<\/a>, the author of the series, is also an investor in the company, which was valued at $10.2 billion in January. \u201cI get the luxury to write about magic, but Ben and Colossal have created magic by bringing these majestic beasts back to our world,\u201d said Martin in a statement.<\/p>\n

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The animals are currently living on a 2,000-acre preserve. Courtesy Colossal Biosciences<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Experts in ancient DNA, however, are less eager to praise the startup\u2019s litter as magical. \u201cThere are reasons to want to functionally validate changes that we see in ancient genomes to try and understand what extinct species look like,\u201d Kevin Daley<\/a>, a paleogeneticist at University College Dublin, told Observer. But these achievements shouldn\u2019t be conflated with de-extinction, added Daley, who said he wishes Colossal\u2019s announcement was accompanied with more scientific data outlining their process and findings.<\/p>\n

One thing\u2019s for sure: Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi are being closely watched over by Colossal, which said the pups are living on a 2,000-acre ecological preserve in North America that is continuously monitored by drones, live cameras and security personnel. In addition to employing ten full-time staffers to look after the wolves, the startup\u2019s preserve includes an on-site vet clinic and outdoor storm shelter.<\/p>\n

Another section of the preserve is also home to four red wolf pups cloned by Colossal, which is simultaneously exploring how its technology can aid in preserving genetic diversity across animal species that are currently endangered. The red wolf is currently listed as critically endangered, with less than 20 remaining in North America. While there are no plans to release Colossal\u2019s red wolf pups, the startup hopes to eventually work with the U.S. government to re-wild the species.<\/p>\n

Although some experts may find Colossal\u2019s mission statement to be overhyped, they note that the startup\u2019s potential to educate and generate more interest in animals, conservation and nature shouldn\u2019t be understated. \u201cI think it could help excite some people about biology and ecosystems,\u201d said Greely of the company\u2019s new \u201cdirish\u201d wolf pups. Even though they\u2019re not true dire wolves, their appeal is undeniable, he added. \u201cMan, those wolves are cute.\u201d<\/p>\n

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