A biotechnology company based in Dallas called Colossal Biosciences announced a major breakthrough in their mission to bring back extinct animals. They have successfully produced a line of Asian elephant stem cells that can be transformed into other types of cells necessary to recreate the woolly mammoth or at least a mammoth-like elephant suitable for the Arctic tundra.
The project, led by Harvard geneticist and Colossal co-founder George Church, aims to address the ongoing extinction crisis and potentially benefit currently endangered elephants. The idea of resurrecting vanished species allows humanity to correct its role in the destruction of biodiversity.
However, the process of bringing a mammoth back to life poses numerous technical challenges and ethical dilemmas. Questions arise about who gets to decide which species are revived and where they will be reintroduced. Moreover, concerns emerge regarding the welfare of the animals themselves, including the lack of knowledge about their behavior and interactions, which could lead to their suffering.
While the woolly mammoth genome has been sequenced, understanding how each gene contributes to the mammoth’s unique features, such as curved tusks, fatty build, and thick fur, requires experimentation on elephant stem cells. Despite previous difficulties in obtaining these cells, Colossal has successfully produced the necessary stem cells by suppressing the anti-cancer genes and implementing specific chemical treatments.
The ultimate goal of Colossal is to genetically edit a nucleus of a stem cell with mammoth genes and fuse it into an elephant egg. If everything goes according to plan, the embryo will be implanted into an elephant surrogate, and a mammoth will be born. To support this, the company envisions using artificial wombs for gestation, although this technology is still in development.
However, zoologist Matthew Cobb expresses skepticism about the feasibility of the project. He highlights the uncertainty of whether modified chromosomes can be