How have we allowed some of the world’s most prized species to fall victim to our never-ending plague of endangerment, followed by extinction? Such events should not always be classified as one of nature’s inevitable hardships, but instead considered detrimental errors that lie within the hands of humanity. A North American canid, the dire wolf, was terrorized by excessive human hunting and drastic climate alterations, a product of drilling for fossil fuels to power automobile engines and generate a fundamental resource that is most prevalent in present day – electricity. Additional factors such as the scarcity of its prey species contributed to the endangerment of the dire wolf over 10,000 years ago. Featured in the television series “Game of Thrones”, the wolf species reached a near-mythical status amongst other renowned creatures, such as the unicorn and cyclops.
If the dire wolf’s extinction has long surpassed ten millenniums with no doubt that the species was permanently erased from Earth’s ecosystems, then Colossal Biosciences has a lot of explaining to do! Biotechnology and experimental company Colossal Biosciences performed the world’s first de-extinction through a revolutionary technique referred to as gene editing (Los Angeles Times). It is described as a form of genetic modification that altered 20 genes in a normal gray wolf based on recovered dire wolf DNA. Hasti Khodabandehlou (11) says, “As a current AP Biology student, it is fascinating how genetic mutations have brought us one step closer towards reviving Earth’s former inhabitants.” Three pups were selected to participate in this genetic engineering and were named Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi (BBC). They can be observed at an ecological preserve in the northern United States. However, Colossal Biosciences expresses its concern considering the restored species’s ability to coexist with its former ecosystem and adapt accordingly.
Several genetics specialists speculate whether the sample group of the “revived” species are identical to the dire wolves that roamed our earth 10,000 years ago. They might as well be gray wolves that previously underwent a couple of genetic alterations since the genome of a dire wolf is drastically different compared to the animal species we recognize today. Experts in cell biology and human anatomy have criticized these types of advancements within the scientific realm. Summer Najib (11) claims, “Although gene-editing is not 100% reliable in the present day, it serves as a testament to society’s scientific progress.” Conversely, experts believe that such experiments can be extremely harmful towards the future of science, specifically the public’s trust. Despite the spark of controversy that followed this intricate project, Colossal Biosciences will continue to be recognized for this scientific milestone that may potentially allow for the de-extinction of formerly erased species.
