Viewpoints Explained: Ancient Genes, Modern Labs: The Quest To Revive These Species

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What ancient creature would you bring back from extinction if you had the chance? A woolly mammoth? Maybe a t-rex? A company called colossal biosciences is trying to make this a reality, but they’re starting small. Meet Romulus, Remus, And Khaleesi—three newborn wolf pups with a twist: they carry genes from the long-extinct dire wolf. If you watched game of thrones, it’s those same dire wolves that the northern family, the Starks, kept as pets.

To create these new pups, the company used ancient DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull to figure out what made dire wolves unique. Then, with a bit of genetic engineering, they added those traits into modern gray wolf embryos, creating pups that look and act like their ice age ancestors. But not everyone’s cheering. Some scientists say these new pups aren’t really dire wolves — just genetically modified gray wolves with a bit of extra flare. And others worry this “Jurassic Park”-style experiment could mess with today’s ecosystems and take resources away from existing animals.

Colossal biosciences defends its work saying that the project advances scientific understanding and could aid conservation efforts for existing species. Looking ahead, the company hopes to try this same technique on other ancient animals like the woolly mammoth and the Tasmanian tiger. But the question remains: how far should humans go in rewriting the past to shape the future?

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