Overview

• Colossal Biosciences has announced the creation of three genetically engineered pups, described as dire wolves, using edited gray wolf DNA combined with ancient dire wolf genetic material.
• Experts argue that the engineered animals lack the full genetic identity of dire wolves and question whether they can truly be classified as the extinct species.
• Bioethicists and ecologists warn of ethical and ecological challenges, including the animals' inability to survive in the wild and the absence of their original environment and social structures.
• The process to create the pups involved significant reproductive interventions, with eight surrogates and an average of 45 embryos per surrogate required to produce the three animals.
• Critics suggest conservation resources would be better allocated to protecting endangered species like red wolves and addressing current biodiversity crises rather than de-extinction efforts.