Latest news with #PhilipSeddon
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Business Standard
11-07-2025
- Science
- Business Standard
Jurassic Park for real? Biotech firm to revive New Zealand's giant bird
Towering over three metres tall, the South Island giant moa was a true titan of the bird world — the tallest bird ever to walk the Earth. For millennia, this flightless herbivore roamed the lush forests of New Zealand, browsing on trees and shrubs with unmatched dominance. But its reign came to an abrupt end 600 years ago with the arrival of humans who hunted it to extinction. The legendary moa now lives on only through Māori oral traditions and scattered remnants: ancient bones, traces of mummified flesh, and the occasional feather — haunting clues to a lost giant. Now, centuries after its disappearance, the giant bird is set to be the latest resurrection target for Colossal Biosciences — a Texas-based biotech company known for its audacious attempts to revive extinct creatures. On Tuesday, the company announced plans to "bring back" the moa within the next ten years, calling the project part of its growing mission to restore lost biodiversity. 'We're bringing back avian dinosaurs,' the company declared. The South Island giant moa (Dinornis robustus) was the largest of nine known moa species, capable of reaching up to 12 feet (3.6 metres) in height. While all moas vanished within a few hundred years of human settlement in New Zealand, Colossal says it hopes to reverse that loss using advanced genetic engineering — in partnership with local Indigenous communities. Can genetic engineering truly bring back lost species? Colossal's plans are ambitious, but they're also raising serious scientific concerns. The company has already faced scrutiny for claiming earlier this year that it had brought back the dire wolf — an Ice Age predator believed to have gone extinct over 10,000 years ago. But after the reveal, many experts pushed back, calling it misleading. The recreated animals, they argued, were simply grey wolves with minor gene edits — not true dire wolves. Even Beth Shapiro, Colossal's chief scientist, later admitted the animals were 'gray wolves with 20 edits' and clarified in an interview with New Scientist that 'it's not possible to bring something back that is identical to a species that used to be alive.' Despite this, the company has doubled down on its original claims, insisting it had indeed "resurrected" the dire wolf. Similar questions now surround the moa project — and others in Colossal's pipeline, including plans to bring back the woolly mammoth, the dodo, and the thylacine (also known as the Tasmanian tiger). Critics argue that, while the science may be impressive, the outcomes are far from true de-extinction. 'There is no existing genetic technology capable of truly bringing a lost species back to life — especially one that's been absent from its ecosystem and evolutionary journey for centuries,' said Philip Seddon, a zoology professor at the University of Otago, in a statement to the New Zealand Science Media Centre (NZSMC). 'No matter the scientific precision, the outcome will never be a real moa. It cannot be. The moa was a singular marvel, shaped by thousands of years of natural evolution — a legacy that simply can't be replicated in a lab.' How Colossal plans to recreate the moa According to Colossal, the process to 'revive' the moa involves extracting DNA from preserved remains of all nine moa species and comparing it with the genetic codes of living birds. Speaking to Time magazine, Shapiro said scientists aim to identify key genetic traits unique to the moa and then engineer those into the genome of the emu or tinamou — two of the moa's closest living relatives. The result would be a modified bird, bred to resemble the extinct giant as closely as possible. But experts caution this will be, at best, a proxy — not a perfect clone. Dr Tori Herridge, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Sheffield, who turned down an offer to join Colossal's advisory board, is among those raising ethical and scientific red flags. 'Is de-extinction possible? No, it's not,' she told The Guardian. 'What we might eventually create are genetically modified organisms that mimic some traits of extinct species, based on what we think they looked like. But using the term 'de-extinction' skips over the hard questions. We're not bringing back the mammoth, the moa or the dodo — we're creating something new to engineer ecological change.'
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Business Standard
11-07-2025
- Science
- Business Standard
De-extinction firm to bring back avian dinosaurs within next 10 years
Towering over three metres tall, the South Island giant moa was a true titan of the bird world — the tallest bird ever to walk the Earth. For millennia, this flightless herbivore roamed the lush forests of New Zealand, browsing on trees and shrubs with unmatched dominance. But its reign came to an abrupt end 600 years ago with the arrival of humans who hunted it to extinction. The legendary moa now lives on only through Māori oral traditions and scattered remnants: ancient bones, traces of mummified flesh, and the occasional feather — haunting clues to a lost giant. Now, centuries after its disappearance, the giant bird is set to be the latest resurrection target for Colossal Biosciences — a Texas-based biotech company known for its audacious attempts to revive extinct creatures. On Tuesday, the company announced plans to "bring back" the moa within the next ten years, calling the project part of its growing mission to restore lost biodiversity. 'We're bringing back avian dinosaurs,' the company declared. The South Island giant moa (Dinornis robustus) was the largest of nine known moa species, capable of reaching up to 12 feet (3.6 metres) in height. While all moas vanished within a few hundred years of human settlement in New Zealand, Colossal says it hopes to reverse that loss using advanced genetic engineering — in partnership with local Indigenous communities. Can genetic engineering truly bring back lost species? Colossal's plans are ambitious, but they're also raising serious scientific concerns. The company has already faced scrutiny for claiming earlier this year that it had brought back the dire wolf — an Ice Age predator believed to have gone extinct over 10,000 years ago. But after the reveal, many experts pushed back, calling it misleading. The recreated animals, they argued, were simply grey wolves with minor gene edits — not true dire wolves. Even Beth Shapiro, Colossal's chief scientist, later admitted the animals were 'gray wolves with 20 edits' and clarified in an interview with New Scientist that 'it's not possible to bring something back that is identical to a species that used to be alive.' Despite this, the company has doubled down on its original claims, insisting it had indeed "resurrected" the dire wolf. Similar questions now surround the moa project — and others in Colossal's pipeline, including plans to bring back the woolly mammoth, the dodo, and the thylacine (also known as the Tasmanian tiger). Critics argue that, while the science may be impressive, the outcomes are far from true de-extinction. 'There is no existing genetic technology capable of truly bringing a lost species back to life — especially one that's been absent from its ecosystem and evolutionary journey for centuries,' said Philip Seddon, a zoology professor at the University of Otago, in a statement to the New Zealand Science Media Centre (NZSMC). 'No matter the scientific precision, the outcome will never be a real moa. It cannot be. The moa was a singular marvel, shaped by thousands of years of natural evolution — a legacy that simply can't be replicated in a lab.' How Colossal plans to recreate the moa According to Colossal, the process to 'revive' the moa involves extracting DNA from preserved remains of all nine moa species and comparing it with the genetic codes of living birds. Speaking to Time magazine, Shapiro said scientists aim to identify key genetic traits unique to the moa and then engineer those into the genome of the emu or tinamou — two of the moa's closest living relatives. The result would be a modified bird, bred to resemble the extinct giant as closely as possible. But experts caution this will be, at best, a proxy — not a perfect clone. Dr Tori Herridge, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Sheffield, who turned down an offer to join Colossal's advisory board, is among those raising ethical and scientific red flags. 'Is de-extinction possible? No, it's not,' she told The Guardian. 'What we might eventually create are genetically modified organisms that mimic some traits of extinct species, based on what we think they looked like. But using the term 'de-extinction' skips over the hard questions. We're not bringing back the mammoth, the moa or the dodo — we're creating something new to engineer ecological change.'
BBC News
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Sabi pipo no agree say dire wolf don come back from extinction
One ogbonge snow white wolf bin dey on top di cover of Time Magazine today togeda wit headline wey announce say di dire wolf don come back. Di dire wolf wey now dey extinct get serious popularity afta e show for di Game of Thrones. But na real animal wey bin exist ova 10,000 years ago and dey waka across di Americas. One company wey dem dey call Colossal Bioscience na dem cause di headlines as dem say dem use "deft genetic engineering and olden days DNS" take breed three dire wolf to take "de-extinct" di species. But even though di young wolves wey dem name Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi na proof of ogbonge technological breakthrough, independent sabi pipo tok say no be dire wolves dem be. Zoologist Philip Seddon from di University of Otago for New Zealand explain say di animals na "genetically modified grey wolves". Colossal reveal dia efforts come outside say dem dey use cutting edge genetic techniques to take bring back extinct animals like di woollt mammoth and di Tasmanian tiger. But sabi pipo don torchlight important biological differneces between di wolf for di cover of di Time and di dire wolf wey bin fry roam and hunt for di last ice age. Paleogeneticist Dr Nic Rawlence, we also be from Otago University, explain how di ancient dire wolf DNA wey dem comot from fossil remains bin dey too degraded and damaged to fir biologically copy or clone. Dr Rawlence tell BBC News say, "ancient DNA be like if you put fresh DNA for inside 500 degree oven overnight. E go comot fragmented like shards and dust. You fit reconstruct am but e no go dey good enough to do any oda tin wit." E add say instead di de-extinction team use new synthetic biology technology wey snip pieces of DNA and insert dem to genetic code of living animal wey still get dia full bological blueprint in tact, in dis case dem use grey wolf. Dr Rawlence say, "so wetin Colossal don produce na grey wolf, but e get some dire wolf like characteristics like bigger skull and white fur. Na hybrid." Dr Beth Shapiro, wey be biologist from Colossal Biosciences say dis work represent de-extinction wey she tok say mea recreating animals wit di same characteristics. "Grey wolf na di closest living relative of dire wolf, genetically dem dey very similar so we target DNA sequences wey lead to dire wolf traits and den edit grey wolf cells... den we clone those cells and create our dire wolves." According ot Dr Rawlence sha, dire wolves comot from grey wolves anywia between 2.5 to six million years ago. E ok say, "na completely different genus to grey wolves. Colossal compare di genomes of di dire wolf and di grey wolf and from about 19,000 genes, dem determine say di 20 changes for 14 genes give dem dire wolf." Di edited embryos bin dey implanted inside surrogate domestic dog mamas. According to di article for di Time, all three wolves bin dey born wit planned C-section to fit minimise risk of complication. Colossal wey bin dey valued at $10bn for January dey keep di wolves for private 2,000-acre facility for one undisclosed location for northern US. Las-las sha, di pups resemble weti many pipo dey tink of wen dem tok about dire-wolf and di tori don gada global attention. So wetin come make dis scientific distinction to dey important? Dr Rawlence tell BBC News say "na bicos extiction still be forever. If we no get extinction how we go take learn from our mistakes? "Di message now don turn sat we fit destroy di environment, and say animals fit go extinct but we go fit bring dem back?"
