De-Extinction or Synthetic Species? Analyzing Colossal's Direwolf Project

Colossal's "De-Extinction" Project

• 💡 Colossal claims to have de-extincted direwolves, but the speaker argues they've created a synthetic species that never existed before.
• 🎯 The project involves genetically modifying greywolves to resemble direwolves, rather than a true resurrection of the extinct species.
• 📌 This approach is considered more remarkable but also potentially scarier than de-extinction, as it signifies the human creation of a new large mammalian species.

Scientific Discrepancies

• 🔬 Colossal states greywolves are the closest living relatives of direwolves, contradicting a 2021 paper that suggests their last common ancestor was nearly 6 million years ago.
• ⚠️ The company has not released data to support their claim, leading to skepticism regarding the genetic relationship and the true appearance of the created animal.
• 📈 The speaker suggests Colossal's narrative is driven by marketing and investor appeal, rather than strict scientific accuracy, especially concerning the