On Monday (April 7), scientists made an announcement revealing to the world that they had "resurrected" long-vanished dire wolves with genetic engineering.
Researchers with the biotechnology company Colossal Biosciences shared images of three adorable, snow-white pups, which they said mark the "world's first de-extinction."
Dire wolves ( Aenocyon dirus ) that gained prominence through the HBO TV series "Game of Thrones" became extinct at the conclusion of the show. last ice age By developing similar-looking pups, Colossal's CEO Ben Lamm stated that the firm has "brought back healthy Dire Wolf puppies" and revived these predators after over 10,000 years of being extinct.
But many experts say the language used by Colossal to describe their creation is misleading. "What Colossal have produced is a gray wolf with dire wolf-like characteristics," Nic Rawlence , an associate professor and co-director of the Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory at the University of Otago, told the New Zealand Science Media Centre (NZ SMC). "This is not a de-extincted dire wolf, rather it's a 'hybrid.'"
To make the pups, scientists extracted DNA from two prehistoric dire wolf fossils: a 13,000-year-old tooth discovered in Sheridan Pit, Ohio, and a 72,000-year-old inner ear bone from American Falls in Idaho. Using this DNA, the researchers pieced together a partial dire wolf genome, which they then compared with the genomes of the dire wolf's closest living relatives, including wolves, jackals and foxes.
Related: Even closer than anticipated: The ‘de-extinction’ of woolly mammoths moves toward reality—and the aftermath remains uncertain.
Based on their results, the scientists selected the gray wolf ( Canis lupus ) as an egg donor to "bring back" dire wolves — despite the two species not actually being that closely related, experts said.
"New information shows that the original dire wolf itself was not really a wolf," David Mech , an adjunct professor specializing in wolf ecology and behavior at the University of Minnesota and senior research scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, told Live Science in an email.
From an evolutionary perspective, dire wolves diverged from regular wolves approximately 6 million years ago, establishing a completely distinct lineage from today’s grey wolves. This means that dire wolves belong to their own genus, representing quite a different species altogether. Philip Seddon , a professor of zoology at the University of Otago, told NZ SMC. "The African jackal might be more closely related to dire wolves."
"GMO wolves"
De-extinction requires egg cells from a living animal to hold and "grow" the genetic material of the animal scientists want to create. Having selected gray wolves to perform this step, Colossal scientists then collected cells from gray wolf blood samples and modified them to resemble the cells they found in the dire wolf fossils. Using CRISPR Using gene-editing technology, the team carried out a total of 20 modifications across 14 genes that were recognized for imparting distinct characteristics to dire wolves.
Next, using a comparable method to the one employed for cloning Dolly the sheep in 1996, the scientists inserted the modified cells' DNA into gray wolf egg cells, whose own genetic material had previously been removed. At this point, the gray wolf egg cells contained all the genetic information required to build wolves with some of the defining characteristics of dire wolves. The egg cells were then left to mature in the lab, and the resulting embryos were implanted into the wombs of domestic dogs, which are technically a subspecies of the gray wolf.
The initial pair of "dire wolf" pups from Colossal, named Romulus and Remus, came into the world on October 1, 2024. At five months old, these young dire wolves have transitioned into adolescence. As stated by Colossal, both animals are currently under constant observation within a fenced-in natural reserve, enclosed by a barrier that stands ten feet tall (three meters).
They will spend their entire lives in a lavish sanctuary under human supervision, Bridgett vonHoldt A professor of evolutionary genomics and epigenetics at Princeton University, who is working with Colossal on this initiative, stated in an email to Live Science, “Many have observed that the health of previously cloned animals often remains uncertain and worrisome.”
On January 30, 2025, a third puppy named Khaleesi came into the world. The level of danger posed by these creatures remains uncertain; however, their conduct probably won’t vary much from that of captive gray wolves, particularly since they’ve consistently had human company around them at all times, according to vonHoldt. She explained, “Many captive wolves interact frequently with people. While some stay obedient toward their human handlers throughout adulthood, others grow up to become distant and reserved. My prediction for the DWs would likely align with this pattern.”
Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi won’t be set free into the wilderness. However, Colossal stated they might explore possibilities for releasing these creatures into “large and secure ecological reserves possibly located on lands owned by Native Americans” in the future.
However, certain specialists strongly question whether such releases would prove successful. They argue that any introduction into the natural habitat could lead to significant public relations issues and potential legal repercussions, a sentiment likely shared regardless of the specific circumstances." various kinds of recently invented creatures ," Mech said.
Concerning the direwolf particularly, Mech mentioned that there is uncertainty about how these creatures would integrate into contemporary ecosystems. He stated, "Their ecological role was completely distinct from anything we have today."
A number of specialists have condemned Colossal's declaration; however, others have commended the firm for its innovative strides in technology. As Seddon noted, "This undoubtedly includes advancements in genetic tech, which could potentially be utilized for safeguarding current species."
One species already experiencing benefits from Colossal's advancements is the red wolf ( Canis rufus ), the world's most endangered The organization reported the emergence of two sets of cloned red wolf pups on Monday, increasing the count of captive red wolves in the U.S. This development brings fresh optimism for the species' future.
However, at the close of the matter, both Seddon and others argued that Colossal’s assertion about reviving the dire wolf lacks credibility. According to Rawlence, Colossal examined the genetic makeup of the dire wolf alongside that of the gray wolf. They found approximately 20 variations across 14 out of around 19,000 genes which led them to identify their version as a dire wolf.
Moreover, Colossal's "dire wolves" aren't technically the world's first de-extinction. In 2003, scientists in Spain cloned an extinct wild goat species known as the bucardo, or the Pyrenean ibex ( Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica A newborn kid passed away just seven minutes after birth because of a lung defect.
The declaration made on Monday indicates that we now have genetically modified organism (GMO) wolves. could potentially someday have genetically modified Asian elephants ", but for now, extinction truly is permanent," Seddon stated.
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