People Magazine Spotlights the Woolly Mouse, Colossal’s Proof of Concept for Woolly Mammoth Gene Traits

The woolly mouse has a holiday video. Released by Colossal Biosciences as a festive feature exclusively shared with People magazine, the video shows the scientific role of the mouse, which is bred with mammoth gene orthologs that produce curlier, thicker hair and cold-adapted fat metabolism, as an early demonstration that specific mammoth genes can be expressed as physical traits in a living animal.

Mice were chosen for the proof-of-concept work because their roughly 20-day gestation allows rapid study of how genes translate into physical traits, a practical advantage over elephants, whose 22-month gestation makes early testing impractical. Chief Science Officer Beth Shapiro has described the woolly mouse as the company’s first validation that mammoth-inspired genes can be successfully expressed in a living animal.

This story is based on original reporting by Moná Thomas for People. Read the full feature on People → https://people.com/watch-colossal-biosciences-woolly-mouse-make-his-first-christmas-cozy-exclusive-11873885