Scientists have revived the leaders of wolf packs thanks to modern science: how did they manage to do it?
8 april 2025 в 23:13
Scientists — and devoted viewers of Game of Thrones — have long known about direwolves and their extinction. The species went extinct thousands of years ago, but thanks to the work of modern science, they have been resurrected! The team at the biotechnology company Colossal Biosciences, based in Texas, announced the successful de-extinction of the direwolf. How did they manage to do this? Read on to find out.
Direwolves were dogs that lived in the Americas during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene — between 125,000 and 10,000 years ago. According to Colossal Biosciences, wolves were typically white in color.
According to a press release from Colossal, the company explained how they successfully de-extincted the direwolf. The scientists involved were:
George Church — a prominent geneticist, molecular engineer, chemist, and co-founder of Colossal Biosciences. He is also a professor at Harvard University and has founded around 50 biotechnology companies in his university lab. Additionally, Church was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2017.
Regarding the de-extinction of direwolves, Church, according to the press release from Colossal, said: «Preservation, expansion, and testing of genetic diversity should be done long before important animal species, like the red wolf, are lost. Another source of ecosystem diversity is our new technologies for restoring lost genes, including deep sequencing of ancient DNA, analysis of polyphyletic traits, multiplex editing of germline cells, and cloning. The direwolf is an early example of this, with the greatest number of precise genomic changes in a healthy vertebrate to date. The potential is growing exponentially».
Ben Lamm — CEO of Colossal. As a successful entrepreneur, Ben is a billionaire with a net worth of $ 3.7 billion, according to Forbes.
Commenting on the de-extinction of direwolves by his company, Lamm said he «could not be more proud of the team», - according to an April 2025 press release.
«This monumental milestone — the first of many upcoming examples demonstrating that our de-extinction technology works from start to finish», - Lamm continued. «Our team took DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull and created healthy direwolf puppies. It was once said that 'any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.' Today, our team has the ability to unveil some of the magic they are working on and its broader impact on conservation»
Direwolves were dogs that lived in the Americas during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene — between 125,000 and 10,000 years ago. According to Colossal Biosciences, wolves were typically white in color.
According to a press release from Colossal, the company explained how they successfully de-extincted the direwolf. The scientists involved were:
George Church — a prominent geneticist, molecular engineer, chemist, and co-founder of Colossal Biosciences. He is also a professor at Harvard University and has founded around 50 biotechnology companies in his university lab. Additionally, Church was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2017.
Regarding the de-extinction of direwolves, Church, according to the press release from Colossal, said: «Preservation, expansion, and testing of genetic diversity should be done long before important animal species, like the red wolf, are lost. Another source of ecosystem diversity is our new technologies for restoring lost genes, including deep sequencing of ancient DNA, analysis of polyphyletic traits, multiplex editing of germline cells, and cloning. The direwolf is an early example of this, with the greatest number of precise genomic changes in a healthy vertebrate to date. The potential is growing exponentially».
Ben Lamm — CEO of Colossal. As a successful entrepreneur, Ben is a billionaire with a net worth of $ 3.7 billion, according to Forbes.
Commenting on the de-extinction of direwolves by his company, Lamm said he «could not be more proud of the team», - according to an April 2025 press release.
«This monumental milestone — the first of many upcoming examples demonstrating that our de-extinction technology works from start to finish», - Lamm continued. «Our team took DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull and created healthy direwolf puppies. It was once said that 'any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.' Today, our team has the ability to unveil some of the magic they are working on and its broader impact on conservation»
© Artemenko Olga
