Overview

• Colossal says it has cultured pigeon primordial germ cells for the first time, a prerequisite for passing edited traits across bird generations.
• Researchers plan to edit Nicobar pigeon germ cells with dodo traits based on museum-derived genomic data and place them into gene-edited chickens that lack their own germ cells.
• Because birds cannot be cloned, the pathway requires two breeding generations to fix edits, making progress slower than in mammals.
• The firm disclosed an additional $120 million in funding, bringing total raised to about $555 million and valuing the company at just over $10 billion.
• Scientists note the work is not fully peer-reviewed and question labeling engineered proxies as true de-extinctions, as Colossal outlines conservation aims and site planning in Mauritius.