Did We Make Dire Wolves? Colossal's Chief Scientist Answers Hank Green

Defining De-extinction & Species Concepts

• 💡 Colossal's Chief Science Officer, Dr. Beth Shapiro, clarifies that the IUCN defines de-extinction as "the process of creating an organism that resembles an extinct species," a definition they believe their direwolf project meets.
• 💬 The video addresses the ongoing debate among biologists about what constitutes a species, noting that definitions vary based on purpose (e.g., morphology for fossils, interbreeding for ecology).
• 📌 Colossal's direwolves are described as genetically modified greywolves with specific direwolf traits, acknowledging that they are not identical to any individual extinct direwolf.

Genetic Engineering Approach

• 🧬 Colossal performed 20 precise genetic edits on greywolf cells to resurrect key direwolf traits, emphasizing that these were targeted changes, not random ones.
• ✅ The choice of greywolves as a surrogate species was based on genetic and morphological similarities, accessibility, and leveraging decades of existing scientific research and knowledge for animal welfare.
• 🔬 They utilize multiplex gene editing (CRISPR) to make numerous changes simultaneously, which is a more efficient method for introducing multiple desired traits.
• ⚠️ Colossal prioritizes healthy pups, opting for alternative genetic pathways for traits like coat color if original direwolf genes were associated with health issues like albinism or hearing loss.

Scientific Basis and Discoveries

• 📜 New ancient DNA data, published on bioRxiv and undergoing peer review, indicates that greywolves are indeed closer genetically to direwolves than jackals, updating previous understandings.
• 💡 Colossal developed a technology to create immortal cell lines from simple blood draws, a significant advance with major implications for conservation.
• 🔍 The project involved obtaining usable direwolf DNA from ancient specimens, including one almost 80,000 years old, to reconstruct a full direwolf genome.

Conservation Philosophy

• 🌱 Colossal views de-extinction technology as a radical new form of conservation and a "tool in the conservation toolkit," not a replacement for traditional conservation efforts.
• 🧩 The "Jenga tower" metaphor illustrates the goal: to create an animal that can fill the ecological niche of an extinct species, helping to stabilize ecosystems.
• 🌍 The company acknowledges that the biodiversity crisis is complex, driven by habitat encroachment and climate change, and requires multiple solutions.

Future Implications & Ethical Stance

• 🚀 Colossal is actively pursuing exogenous development (artificial wombs) to eliminate the need for surrogates in the future.
• 🚫 The company explicitly states it has no intention of using this technology on humans, focusing solely on the extinction crisis.
• 🔬 Ongoing research is critical to understand the long-term effects of genetic edits on animal health, lifespan, behavior, and ecosystem interactions before rewilding.