Free Republic

Using a novel iterative genome assembly method, the company produced the most complete dire wolf genomes to date. caretaker feeding an infant dire wolf. Colossal Biosciences For decades, dire wolves have captivated the imaginations of gamers, musicians, and fantasy fans. From Dungeons & Dragons and World of Warcraft to Game of Thrones, these prehistoric predators have lived on as cultural icons far more than biological realities –until now. In a stunning scientific breakthrough, Dallas-based Colossal Laboratories & Biosciences has brought the legendary canid back from extinction, making it the world’s first successfully de-extincted animal. Three litters of dire wolves have...

For more than a decade, scientists have chased the idea of reviving extinct species, a process sometimes called de-extinction. Now, a company called Colossal Biosciences appears to have done it, or something close, with the dire wolf, a giant, extinct species made famous by the television series “Game of Thrones.” In 2021, a separate team of scientists managed to retrieve DNA from the fossils of dire wolves, which went extinct about 13,000 years ago. With the discovery of additional DNA, the Colossal researchers have now edited 20 genes of gray wolves to imbue the animals with key features of dire...