Can We Save Living Species By Recovering Extinct Genomes From Dire Wolves and Giant Sloths?

BY CASSIDY WARD

Colossal Biosciences wants to resurrect the wooly mammoth, but first the company is breathing life into ancient DNA research around the world. Over the last few years, Colossal has promised a Jurassic Park-like near future with living, breathing mammoths, thylacines (Tasmanian tigers) and dodos. They’ve set a tight deadline to deliver the first living mammoth in millennia by 2028. In the meantime, the company is taking a shotgun approach to pumping up the research landscape for the benefit of animals both extinct and extant.

Recently, Colossal brought in Beth Shapiro, an expert in ancient DNA, as the company’s Chief Science Officer to run their in-house research. In addition, the company is providing $7.5 million in research funding to outside academic programs in 2024, with the hope that spreading the money around will benefit the field as a whole.

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