Scientists genetically engineer wolves with white hair and muscular jaws like the extinct dire wolf
By CHRISTINA LARSON Associated Press Science Writer Three genetically engineered wolves that may resemble extinct dire wolves are trotting sleeping and howling in an undisclosed secure location in the U S according to the company that aims to bring back lost species The wolf pups which range in age from three to six months old have long white hair muscular jaws and already weigh in at around pounds on track to reach pounds at maturity researchers at Colossal Biosciences revealed Monday This undated photo provided by Colossal Biosciences shows two pups that were genetically engineered with similarities to the extinct dire wolf Colossal Biosciences via AP Dire wolves which went extinct more than years ago are much larger than gray wolves their closest living relatives in the modern day Independent scientists noted this latest effort doesn t mean dire wolves are coming back to North American grasslands any time soon All you can do now is make something look superficially like something else not fully revive extinct species mentioned Vincent Lynch a biologist at the University at Buffalo who was not involved in the research Colossal scientists learned about specific traits that dire wolves possessed by examining ancient DNA from fossils The researchers studied a year-old dire wolf tooth unearthed in Ohio and a year-old skull fragment ascertained in Idaho both part of natural history museum collections This undated photo provided by Colossal Biosciences shows Romulus and Remus both -months old and genetically engineered with similarities to the extinct dire wolf Colossal Biosciences via AP Then the scientists took blood cells from a living gray wolf and used CRISPR to genetically modify them in different sites reported Colossal s chief scientist Beth Shapiro They transferred that genetic material to an egg cell from a domestic dog When ready embryos were transferred to surrogates also domestic dogs and days later the genetically engineered pups were born Colossal has previously publicized similar projects to genetically alter cells from living species to create animals resembling extinct woolly mammoths dodos and others Though the pups may physically resemble young dire wolves what they will apparently never learn is the finishing move of how to kill a giant elk or a big deer because they won t have opportunities to watch and learn from wild dire wolf parents mentioned Colossal s chief animal care expert Matt James Colossal also broadcasted in the current era that it had cloned four red wolves using blood drawn from wild wolves of the southeastern U S s critically endangered red wolf population The aim is to bring more genetic diversity into the small population of captive red wolves which scientists are using to breed and help save the species This system may have broader application for conservation of other species because it s less invasive than other techniques to clone animals noted Christopher Preston a wildlife expert at the University of Montana who was not involved in the research But it still requires a wild wolf to be sedated for a blood draw and that s no simple feat he added Colossal CEO Ben Lamm reported the association met with authorities from the U S Interior Department in late March about the project Interior Secretary Doug Burgum praised the work on X on Monday as a thrilling new era of scientific wonder even as outside scientists commented there are limitations to restoring the past Whatever ecological function the dire wolf performed before it went extinct it can t perform those functions on currently s existing landscapes announced Buffalo s Lynch The Associated Press Soundness and Science Department receives promotion from the Howard Hughes Anatomical Institute s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The AP is solely responsible for all content
