A company called Colossal Biosciences has genetically engineered three wolf pups to resemble extinct dire wolves that went extinct over 10,000 years ago. The pups have long white hair, muscular jaws, and are on track to reach 140 pounds at maturity. Despite their physical resemblance to dire wolves, they may not be able to fully revive the extinct species as they lack the opportunity to learn the behaviors of wild dire wolf parents.
Colossal Biosciences used CRISPR technology to genetically modify cells from a living gray wolf and transfer them to an egg cell from a domestic dog to create the genetically engineered pups. The company has also cloned four red wolves using blood drawn from wild wolves to help increase the genetic diversity of the critically endangered red wolf population in the southeastern US.
While this technology may have broader applications for conservation efforts, experts caution that it still has limitations. The recreated dire wolves may not be able to perform the same ecological functions that the original species did, and sedating a wild wolf for a blood draw is no simple task. Despite these limitations, the work done by Colossal Biosciences has been praised by the US Interior Department as a step towards a new era of scientific wonder.
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