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The dire wolf has been brought back from extinction after 13,000 years thanks to the “science of de-extinction”, a US biotech firm claims.
The company, Colossal Biosciences, used ancient dire wolf DNA to breed three puppies: Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi.
Using a 13,000-year-old tooth and 72,000-year-old skull, scientists deciphered the dire wolf’s genome and edited a grey wolf’s genetic code to match it.
The embryos were inserted into the wombs of surrogate domestic dogs and delivered via caesarean section, according to Time magazine.
But some have cast doubt on the label of “de-extinction”. Paleogeneticist Dr Nic Rawlence told the BBC the DNA would have been too degraded to clone, making the pups hybrids.
A zoologist said they’re merely “genetically modified grey wolves”. Whether they are dire wolves or not is important.
As Dr Rawlence asked: “Is the message now that we can go and destroy the environment and that animals can go extinct, but we can bring them back?”
Photo credit: Colossal Laboratories & Biosciences
