Prime Highlights
- Three wolf pups that share physical characteristics with the extinct dire wolf have been bioengineered by Colossal Biosciences.
- Experts point out that although similar to dire wolves, the animals are not dire wolves and could never be substitutes in the wild.
Key Facts
- Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi pups were created by editing 20 sites of the gray wolves’ genes.
- The intention was to create copies of the dire wolf’s features, including the bigger jaw and the white pelt, and not the entire species.
Key Background:
In a theatrics exhibition of genetic manipulation, Colossal Biosciences has boasted with the arrival of three wolf puppies with feature-based characteristics copied from the long-lost dire wolf. These canines—Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi—were developed from gene-edited DNA from gray wolves that included some of the features of dire wolves, like robust jaws, additional muscularity, and coats as white as new-fallen snow. The dire wolf, fossil carnivore and roamer of North America until about 10,000 years ago, has fascinated scientists for decades with its enormity and enigmatic demise.
To produce such top-tier wolves, scientists at Colossal utilized fossil material, a tooth from 13,000 years ago, and a skull dating back 72,000 years, to look for dire wolf-specific genes by hunting for them in them. Changing 20 genes necessary for gray wolves through the use of CRISPR technology, scientists formed embryos of them, which were then implanted in domesticated dogs. These canines aren’t really dire wolves, though, as they don’t possess any actual dire wolf DNA within their gene pool—they’re actually an amazingly precise physical replica with no promises of ecological or non-ecological depiction.
Scientists are sounding the alarm. Evolutionary biologist Vincent Lynch added that the pups might resemble dire wolves, but how they function, how they operate, and how they coexist in their environment is unknown. Similarly, Colossal’s lead scientist Beth Shapiro described how the pups are not genetically similar to dire wolves but a step closer to developing skills that will ultimately be utilized in de-extinction science.
Colossal Biosciences has already created notorious headlines for its de-extinction science endeavors like the return of the dodo and the woolly mammoth. Colossal Biosciences also stated that it cloned four red wolves to preserve this critically endangered dog. While such innovations prove how advanced human science has become, they do raise some very fundamental questions about ethics, ecological danger, and agenda for biodiversity preservation. Critics are urging attention to the resurrection of the dead species not to detract from the attention of preserving those that still exist.
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