Colossal is not cloning dinosaurs, but they use CRISPR to engineer living proxies of extinct species - like woolly mammoth and dire wolves - by editing the genomes of their closest living relatives.

For the woolly mammoth, Colossal scientists have identified key genes responsible for cold adaptation and thick, woolly hair. They've successfully inserted these genes into the DNA of mice, resulting in "woolly mice" that exhibit mammoth-like traits. This is a significant step toward creating a living mammoth hybrid, with plans to introduce mammoth genes into Asian elephants, aiming for a birth by 2028.

In the case of the dire wolf, extinct for about 13,000 years, Colossal has edited the genomes of gray wolves to incorporate 20 key dire wolf genes. These edited embryos were implanted into surrogate dogs, resulting in three healthy wolf pups - Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi - that display physical traits reminiscent of the dire wolf, such as larger size and thick, light-colored coats. While not exact replicas, these animals represent functional proxies of their extinct counterparts

Mmm, kinda. It’s a gray area (like a wolf). Many critics argue that Colossal is not actually bringing extinct species back, but rather creating genetically modified proxies. Conservation geneticists and scholars have called this misleading, suggesting it’s more of a publicity stunt than a scientific breakthrough.

In response, Colossal’s leadership, especially CEO Ben Lamm, has publicly pushed back. Lamm argues that critics are missing the point, emphasizing that Colossal has always described its work as creating “functional proxies”- not exact replicas-of extinct species, in line with definitions accepted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). And even if a media publication runs with an alternative perspective, the company’s website and public comms have openly described their technology and methods.

In addition to the nomenclature of what truly defines “de-extinction,” a number of other concerns have been raised, including:

Clearly we’re not the first to talk about Colossal - I mean, there’s even a Direwolf memecoin already. Many people smarter (and louder) than us have been on both sides of the debate.

Which is exactly why we think this is so cool. The fact that Colossal is taking a big swing, and is talking about in a big way, and there are others with big concerns, leads to BIG (x3) discussion about the importance of technology’s role in conservation. Beyond environmentalism, this gets into economics and philosophy - and we’re here for it.

For us, the easy positioning is that conservation is important, and it now has a genomic upgrade.

Trust me, I want a pet woolly mammoth while dining on roasted dodo. But Colossal’s real revolution? Using that same tech for conservation - to stop the extinction crisis. Earth is losing species at 1,000x the natural extinction rate.

Take EEHV, a deadly virus that silently kills 1 in 5 baby elephants before they reach adulthood. Colossal built an mRNA vaccine - similar to COVID vaccines - that’s already being tested on calves in U.S. zoos.

In Australia, Colossal’s working with the genome of the northern quoll, a marsupial being wiped out by toxic cane toads. Their edits boosted toxin resistance 6,000x. That’s not an evolutionary tweak. That’s bioengineering a comeback.

Colossal’s flipping that question around. Their tech platform isn’t just about reviving the past, it’s built to protect the future. De-extinction is the headline, but the real impact is using advanced genetics to make species resilient in the face of climate change, habitat loss, and disease.

With biodiversity collapsing and over 1 millions species at risk of extinction, we need to consider moonshot approaches. And while we will let others debate the efficacy and morality - we say hell yeah to the fact that we are able to have this conversation.

Colossal homepage

Eek, it’s a woolly mouse!

NPR overview

Podcast 1 (Medelspod Podcast)

Podcast 2 (Ted Hesser Podcast)

Podcast 3 (Modern CTO)