A US biotech company aiming to revive extinct species, successfully edited genes in mouse embryo to give it thick, woolly hair, advancing a step towards creating a mammoth-like elephant.
Colossal Biosciences, which first announced its ambitious plans in 2021 to bring back the woolly mammoth and later the dodo, claimed that its work could contribute to conservation efforts.
However, scientists remain divided over the project’s true impact.
The Texas-based firm on Tuesday revealed that its researchers had edited seven genes in mice embryos, producing a rodent with long, dense fur. The “colossal woolly mouse,” also displayed metabolic traits linked to cold tolerance, characteristics similar to those found in woolly mammoths.
The company is looking forward to using similar genetic modifications on Asian elephants, the closest living relatives of mammoths, in an effort to create animals with mammoth-like traits.
However, critics argue this is not the same as bringing an extinct species back to life.
“You’re not actually resurrecting anything—you’re not bringing back the ancient past,” said Christopher Preston, a wildlife and environment expert at the University of Montana, who was not involved in the research.
“You might be able to alter the hair pattern of an Asian elephant or adapt it to the cold, but it’s not bringing back a woolly mammoth. It’s changing an Asian elephant.”
Colossal’s chief scientist, Beth Shapiro, explained that the genetic variations introduced into the mouse were already present in some living mice. “We put them all together in a single mouse,” she said, reported by Sky News.
The company said it used mice as a testing ground before potentially applying the technique to Asian elephant embryos. However, with Asian elephants classified as endangered, chief executive Ben Lamm acknowledged that navigating the legal and ethical hurdles would be a challenge.
While the results have not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal, experts agree that the experiment is a significant technical achievement.
“It is technologically pretty cool,” said Vincent Lynch, a biologist at the University of Buffalo, who was not involved in the study.
Colossal’s work has sparked debate, as some hail it as a step towards de-extinction, while others question whether modifying living animals can ever truly bring back what was lost.
