Latest news with #Romulus
CBS News
a day ago
- General
- CBS News
Summit Academy student arrested after police investigate threats to other students
A ninth-grader was taken into custody over threats made to other students at Summit Academy North High School in Romulus, Michigan. The investigation began Wednesday morning, based on a report that the Huron Township Police Department said its school resource officer assigned to the Middlebelt Road campus received. Summit Superintendent Jason Hamstra provided additional details in his statement: "During the school day today, a high school student reported to school administration that another student had made threatening comments toward specific students during class. The administrators and our school resource officer followed our safety protocols. The student was immediately escorted to the office to begin a preliminary investigation." Based on the results of the police investigation, the student was taken into custody and has been lodged at the Wayne County Juvenile Detention Center. The police department said any next steps are pending review of charges by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. "We are very proud of how our students and staff handled this situation. The safety of our school community is always a top priority," the superintendent said. "This is a reminder to please talk to your children about the importance of reporting to a trusted adult any concerning comment or behavior." June 12 is the last day of the 2024-25 school year at Summit Academy North.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
If it looks like a dire wolf, is it a dire wolf? How to define a species is a scientific and philosophical question
Biotech company Colossal Biosciences made headlines in April 2025 after claiming it had 'successfully restored … the dire wolf to its rightful place in the ecosystem.' Three wolf pups – Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi – were born through this de-extinction project. But behind the scenes lies a more complicated reality. What Colossal actually did was edit a small number of gray wolf genes, aiming to create physical traits that resemble those of the extinct dire wolf. The edited embryos were implanted into surrogate domestic dogs. Many scientists and reporters expressed skepticism about the claim that this amounts to restoring the dire wolf. Experts pointed out that tweaking a handful of genes does not replicate the full biological reality of a long-extinct species. Most of the dire wolf's genetic makeup remains unknown and unreplicated. This gap between appearance and biological identity raises a deeper question: What exactly is a species, and how do you decide whether something belongs to one species rather than another? Biologists call the answer a species concept – a theory about what a species is and how researchers sort organisms into different groups. As a philosopher of science who studies what defines a species, I can say this: Whether de-extinction projects succeed depends on which species concept you think is right – and the truth is, even scientists don't agree. When scientists talk about biodiversity – the variety of life-forms found in nature – species are the basic building blocks. A species is supposed to reflect a real division between distinct groups of organisms in the natural world, not just a convenient label. In classifying living things into species, scientists are trying to 'carve nature at its joints' to reflect real patterns shaped by evolution. Even so, deciding what counts as a species turns out to be surprisingly difficult and highly controversial. Scientists have proposed dozens of distinct species concepts – some scholars have counted over 32 ways to define a species – and each draws the lines a little differently. These definitions don't always agree on whether an organism is part of one species rather than another. Two of the most influential species concepts highlight the challenge. The biological species concept defines a species as a group of organisms that can naturally breed with each other and produce fertile offspring. Under this view, African forest elephants and African savanna elephants were once classified as the same species because they could mate and have young together, even though they lived in different habitats and looked different. Another approach, the phylogenetic species concept, emphasizes ancestry instead of breeding. A species, in this view, is a group that shares a unique evolutionary history, forming its own distinct branch on the tree of life. By this standard, researchers found that forest and savanna elephants had been genetically evolving separately for millions of years, long enough to be considered different species even if they could still interbreed. Understanding these different species concepts is crucial for evaluating claims about de-extinction. If Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi could naturally mate with historical dire wolves and produce fertile offspring, then they would be considered true dire wolves under the biological species concept. But for definitions of species that emphasize evolutionary history, such as the phylogenetic species concept, the lab-created wolves would not qualify as real dire wolves – even if they were indistinguishable from the originals – because they did not descend from historical dire wolves. Despite differences on how best to define species, there is a surprising degree of consensus among scientists and philosophers on one big idea: What makes something part of a species is not an internal feature, such as a specific set of genes, but a relationship to something else – to its environment, to other organisms, or to a shared evolutionary history. By this way of thinking – what is often called relationalism – there is no special 'lemon gene' that makes a lemon and no hidden genetic marker that automatically makes an animal a dire wolf. Commonly shared across all these theories is the notion that belonging to a particular species depends on connections and context, not on anything inside the organism itself. But what if that consensus is wrong? At first glance, the standard ways of defining a species seem to work well. But every now and then, nature throws a curveball – and even the most trusted definitions don't quite fit. Take the case of the blue-winged and golden-winged warblers. These two songbirds look and sound different. They wear different plumage, sing different songs and prefer different habitats. Birders and organizations such as the American Ornithological Society have always classified them as separate species. Yet under two of the most common scientific definitions of species, the biological and phylogenetic species concepts, blue-winged and golden-winged warblers are considered the same species. These birds regularly mate and produce young together. They've been swapping genes for thousands of years. And when scientists looked at their nuclear DNA – the genetic material tucked inside the nucleus of each cell – they found the two birds are 99.97% identical. This finding suggests that even careful, widely accepted species definitions can miss something important. So what if, instead, the key to being part of a species lies deep inside the organism, in the way its basic systems of life fit together? Recent work in biology and philosophy suggests another way of thinking about species that focuses on a hidden but vital system inside cells: the partnership between two sets of genetic material. I and my colleague Kyle B. Heine explore this idea by drawing on research in mitonuclear ecology – the study of how different parts of an organism's genetic material adapt and work together to produce energy. Virtually every cell contains two kinds of DNA. One set, stored in the nucleus, acts like an instruction manual that guides most of the cell's activities. The other, found in structures called mitochondria – the cell's energy centers – contains its own much smaller set of instructions geared toward supporting its unique role in keeping the cell running. Producing energy depends on precise teamwork between nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA, like two musicians playing in perfect harmony. Over millions of years, the nuclear and mitochondrial DNA of each species have evolved together to form a unique, finely tuned system. This insight has led to a new way of thinking about species, called the mitonuclear compatibility species concept. According to this idea, an organism belongs to a species if its two sets of genes – those in the nucleus and those in the mitochondria – are optimized to work together to generate life-sustaining energy. If the cellular partnership between these two genetic systems is mismatched, the organism may struggle to produce the energy it needs to survive, grow and reproduce. By this standard, different species aren't just defined by how they look or behave, but by whether their nuclear and mitochondrial genes form a uniquely coadapted team. For example, even though blue-winged and golden-winged warblers are nearly identical in their nuclear DNA, they differ by about 3% in their mitochondrial DNA – a clue that their energy systems are distinct. And that's exactly what the mitonuclear compatibility species concept predicts: They really are two separate species. Bringing back a species like the dire wolf isn't just a matter of getting the fur right or tweaking a few visible traits. According to my preferred species concept, even if a recreated animal looks the part, it won't truly be a dire wolf unless its inner genetic systems – the ones that power its cells – are finely tuned to work together, just as they were in the original species. That's a tall order. And without restoring the full inner machinery of the original species, any lab-grown look-alike would fall short. Understanding how scientists define species – and how those definitions shape the possibilities of de-extinction – offers more than just a lesson in biological bookkeeping. It shows that classification is not just about names or lineages, but about recognizing the deep biological patterns that sustain life, offering a deeper appreciation of what it really means to bring back the past. Reviving an extinct species isn't like assembling a model from spare parts. It means recreating a living, breathing system – one whose parts must work in concert, not just look the part. And that's why philosophy and science both matter here: To understand what we're bringing back, we must first understand what was truly lost. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Elay Shech, Auburn University Read more: Colors are objective, according to two philosophers − even though the blue you see doesn't match what I see Why is astronomy a science but astrology is not? Should we bring back the dodo? De-extinction is a feel-good story, but these high-tech replacements aren't really 'resurrecting' species Elay Shech does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Ford engineer announces 'unprecedented' tech that could slash the prices of electric vehicles: 'This isn't just a lab experiment'
A next-generation battery has arrived from Romulus — the city in Michigan. While there's no need to assemble an away team, Ford's headline-making breakthrough, reported on by InsideEVs, could warp already strong electric vehicle adoption to another level. In fact, lead EV engineer Charles Poon wrote on LinkedIn that the unique chemistry being used should produce cheaper rides that can travel longer distances within the decade. The news was also covered by USA Today. "This isn't just a lab experiment," Poon wrote on LinkedIn. The innovation is a lithium manganese rich, or LMR, battery cell now in its second generation. It is being developed in Ford's battery research headquarters. The pack offers better safety and can store more energy per pound, according to Poon and the reports. Poon also added that the company is anticipating "unprecedented" cost reduction. "Our goal is clear: to achieve cost parity with gasoline vehicles and deliver affordable customer solutions tailored to their needs," the expert wrote. But in-depth pack details are scarce, leaving "some experts underwhelmed," per the USA Today. For its part, LMR cathode chemistry has been around for decades. The first Chevy Volt even included a lithium manganese design, all according to the newspaper and an article posted by ScienceDirect. But performance issues at high current densities have prevented the kind Ford is using from being commercialized more widely. Now the engineers seem to have jumped the hurdles. When batteries operate, ions move between the anode and cathode through the electrolyte, a crucial middle layer. Scientists for major automakers and in labs elsewhere are trying to lower the cost and environmental impact of the materials that form the components. Manganese is being researched in China, with interesting results billed as "next-generation," as well. Part of the benefit is eliminating costly cobalt and nickel, according to USA Today. While the lack of a complete schematic breakdown from Ford is causing some skepticism, the automaker's achievements to date provide proof of its electric potential. The Mustang Mach E last year set a range record in England at 569.64 miles. The company has also been busy at the patent office, filing paperwork for a realistic EV stick shift, among other unique ideas. If successful, Ford could blow open the doors on an already-growing EV market. Stateside sales hit nearly 300,000 in the first quarter of 2025, an 11.4% year-over-year jump, per Cox Automotive. Each EV that replaces a gas guzzler nixes thousands of pounds of heat-trapping air pollution, which spews looming gases that increase risks for lung, heart, and other health problems, all according to government reports. If you were going to purchase an EV, which of these factors would be most important to you? Cost Battery range Power and speed The way it looks Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Tax breaks are still available to incentivize the switch, saving you up to $7,500. That's in addition to an estimated $1,500 you can bank in gas and maintenance costs. If you add a rooftop solar system to the mix as part of an overall cleaner strategy, you can secure more tax credits and leverage abundant sun energy to charge your cleaner ride — all without necessarily tapping the grid. EnergySage is a free, online tool to help you navigate the solar market. The experts there can even help you find an installer. Ford is still paying to install at-home charging stations for qualifying customers who buy or lease an EV, as well. While it's all encouraging, the company had mixed EV news last year when it announced it was shifting an Ontario plant from EV production to combustion-engine truck assembly. The decision counterbalanced some of the bigger electric milestones. Poon indicated on LinkedIn that the EV commitment remains strong. "We've fostered a culture of relentless innovation, where challenging convention and pushing the boundaries of what's possible is part of our every day," the engineer wrote. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Has the Dire Wolf really returned? Colossal scientist finally tells the truth
Image credits: Instagram/ It seems filters are not just limited to social media anymore. They can be created in organisms in real life to make them resemble a more beautiful yet extinct version of them. Colossal Biosciences, an American biotechnology and genetic engineering company announced on April 7, 2025, the birth of "dire wolf" pups which went extinct over 10,000 years ago. The company explicitly announced the "rebirth of the once extinct dire wolf" a species that was mostly unknown, unheard of and unseen by humans, thus getting them excited about the possibility of seeing an animal from the past alive in the present. But has the dire wolf really returned? Read on to find out what the chief scientist at Colossal has to say. Who are Dire wolves? Dire Wolf, scientifically known as Aenocyon dirus are canines that existed during the Pleistocene Epoch, around 2.6 million to 11700 years ago. According to the species was spread throughout North America and parts of western South America. Its skeletal remains have been found in Florida, the Mississippi River valley, Valley of Mexico, Bolivia, Peru and Venezuela. These wolves that had gone extinct thousands of years ago were said to have been made 'de-extinct' by Colossal who announced the birth of three dire wolf pups named Romulus, Remulus and Khaleesi. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy Brass Idols - Handmade Brass Statues for Home & Gifting Luxeartisanship Buy Now Undo When the company announced the same, it was believed by people across the globe that a new success had been achieved in biotechnology and humans had once again been able to achieve a task that was thought to be impossible. However, there were many researchers who stated that the claim made by Colossal of reviving an extinct species was false and that they were just genetically modified gray wolves. Now, Colossal's chief science officer, Beth Shapiro has finally revealed the true identity of these pups. Has the Dire Wolf truly returned? Image credits: Instagram/kitharringtonig In a new interview with New Scientist, Shapiro confirmed that the "dire wolves" created by the company are indeed just gray wolves with 20 modified genes. "It's not possible to bring something back that is identical to a species that used to be alive. Our animals are grey wolves with 20 edits that are cloned," said Shapiro. "And we've said that from the very beginning. Colloquially, they're calling them dire wolves and that makes people angry," she added. "In our press release, we stated we made 20 gene edits to grey wolf cells," a spokesperson for the company said to Live Sciences. "Grey wolves are the closest living relative to the dire wolves, as we showed in our paper. With those edits, we have brought back the dire wolf…" "We have also said that species are ultimately a human construct and that other scientists have a right to disagree and call them whatever they want to call them. Khaleesi, Romulus and Remus are the first dire wolves to walk the Earth in 12,000 years. They are doing amazingly well and are a testament to what we can achieve as we continue on our goal of bringing back the dodo, thylacine, and woolly mammoth, among other species. " The contention between Colossal and other scientists lies in different definitions of a species. Shapiro previously shared that Colossal is using the "morphological species concept" which defines a species on the basis of its morphology or appearance. However, most scientists follow the "biological species concept" which defines a species on their capability of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. How did Colossal create the new "dire wolf"? In order to create the new dire wolves, Colossal scientists found fossils of the real dire wolves, their teeth and skulls that had been buried for 13,000 to 72,000 years. These bones still had tiny fragments of DNA that they used to build the creatures. Next, they required a closest living relative of the dire wolves to use as a template. This is where the gray wolves entered the situation as their closest living cousins. They compared the DNA of both to figure out the differences which revealed that the dire wolves were larger, had a more massive skull, smaller brain and larger teeth than the modern day gray wolves. Then, the scientists embarked on the process of gene editing through the tool CRISPR which essentially helped them change certain parts of the gray wolf's DNA and insert in the place, aspects of the dire wolf DNA. In total, they made about 20 edits across 14 genes. This means that out of the 20,000 genes they just changed 14 to make the wolves morphologically look like dire wolves but the rest of them are still gray wolves. To produce the dire wolves, they took an empty egg cell from a big dog, removed its own DNA and inserted the edited gray wolf DNA. This egg was planted into a surrogate large domestic dog who carried them and gave them birth. Thus, while Colossal's dire wolves are truly a master of science and technology and have become a symbol of achieving the unimaginable, they are not really dire wolves but just modified gray wolves.
Int'l Business Times
19-05-2025
- Science
- Int'l Business Times
Colossal's Dire Wolf De-Extinction: The Science Behind the Breakthrough
In a breakthrough that blurs the line between science fiction and reality, biotechnology company Colossal Biosciences has achieved what many thought impossible: bringing an extinct species back to life. On April 8, 2025, Colossal announced the successful birth of three dire wolf pups—Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi—marking the first-ever de-extinction of an animal through advanced genetic engineering. For Australian audiences, this achievement resonates particularly strongly, given the nation's own painful history with extinction and its ongoing battle to preserve unique fauna found nowhere else on Earth. From Ancient DNA to Three Living Pups The dire wolf ( Aenocyon dirus ), an iconic Ice Age predator that disappeared approximately 13,000 years ago, now walks the earth again. Once known only from fossils and popularized in fantasy through works like George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones , these animals represent a historic milestone in scientific achievement. Colossal's de-extinction process involved a sophisticated fusion of ancient DNA analysis, CRISPR gene editing, and reproductive technologies. Rather than finding a perfectly preserved specimen to clone directly, Colossal's team reconstructed the dire wolf genome and engineered living animals to match it. "Our team took DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull and made healthy dire wolf puppies," explained Ben Lamm, CEO of Colossal Biosciences. "It was once said, 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.' Today, our team gets to unveil some of the magic they are working on and its broader impact on conservation." De-Extinction Through Genetic Innovation The scientific journey began with extracting genetic material from dire wolf fossils. From these ancient remains, scientists sequenced and assembled the extinct predator's genome, creating a genetic blueprint that would guide the revival process. Comparing this blueprint to the dire wolf's closest living relative—the gray wolf—Colossal's team identified 14 important genes carrying 20 distinct genetic variants that give dire wolves their characteristic features. These included genes influencing size, musculature, skull shape, tooth structure, coat texture, and even vocalization patterns. Using CRISPR technology, scientists edited living cells from gray wolves to carry these dire wolf genes. Twenty precise genetic edits were made to create the dire wolf. After careful genetic modification, Colossal applied cloning techniques to turn these edited cells into embryos. Scientists removed the genetic material from donor egg cells and replaced it with the nucleus of the edited cells. These reconstructed eggs were developed into embryos and implanted into surrogate mothers—domestic dogs, specifically hound mixes—for gestation. The first two pups, Romulus and Remus (both males), were born in October 2024 after approximately 65 days of gestation . A few months later, in January 2025, a third surrogate gave birth to the female pup, Khaleesi. Where Sci-Fi Becomes Reality Now at six months and three months old respectively, the snowy-white dire wolf pups are thriving at a dedicated 2,000-acre protected reserve under round-the-clock care and monitoring. Already exhibiting classic dire wolf traits, they have thick white fur, broad heads, and hefty builds, weighing approximately 80 pounds at just six months old. For comparison, red wolves—one of the largest existing wolf species—typically weigh just 35 to 45 pounds at that age. The stark contrast underscores the dire wolves' massive stature and distinctiveness, even at such an early stage of development. Interestingly, their behavior reflects their wild nature. Unlike domestic puppies, Romulus and Remus keep their distance from humans. They flinch or retreat even from familiar caretakers, demonstrating genuine wild lupine instincts despite never having encountered another dire wolf. This breakthrough is the latest from Colossal's de-extinction platform, which has also created "woolly mice" with mammoth genes. The dire wolf achievement, with even more genetic edits, suggests the company's timeline for reviving other extinct species, including plans to reintroduce the woolly mammoth by 2028 and the thylacine (Tasmanian tiger) thereafter, might be feasible. Australian Conservation Applications and Future Impact While the dire wolf never roamed the Australian continent, the technology behind its revival has profound implications for Australia's unique conservation challenges. Australia faces one of the world's most severe extinction crises. As of early 2025, the number of Australian animals, plants, and ecological communities officially recognized as being in danger of extinction has risen to 2,142. The situation continues to worsen, with 144 species added to the threatened species list in 2023 alone—five times more than the yearly average. Beyond the scientific marvel, Colossal emphasizes that de-extinction science directly benefits extant endangered species worldwide, including Australia's threatened fauna. Alongside the dire wolf births, the company announced the successful cloning of two litters of critically endangered red wolves ( Canis rufus ), producing four healthy pups using the same "non-invasive blood cloning" approach developed in the dire wolf work. With fewer than 20 red wolves remaining in the wild in North America, making them the most endangered wolves on the planet, this technological crossover demonstrates immediate conservation applications. The red wolf cloning success could potentially increase the number of founding lineages in the captive breeding population by 25%. "The same technologies that created the dire wolf can directly help save a variety of other endangered animals as well. This is an extraordinary technological leap for both science and conservation," said Dr. Christopher Mason, a Colossal scientific advisor. Perhaps most significantly for Australia, the technologies developed in the dire wolf project are advancing Colossal's work to resurrect the thylacine (Tasmanian tiger), one of Australia's most notorious extinction events, occurring less than a century ago. Breakthroughs in October 2024 have produced a 99.9% complete thylacine genome from a 110-year-old preserved specimen. The University of Melbourne's TIGRR lab (Thylacine Integrated Genomic Restoration Research) is collaborating with Colossal on this project, with scientists suggesting the same de-extinction techniques could help protect current endangered Australian species. Ethics and Future Applications The revival of the dire wolf opens unprecedented possibilities for conservation and biodiversity restoration. The American Humane Society has certified Colossal's animal care facilities. For indigenous communities, the revival carries profound cultural significance. This collaborative approach to de-extinction, working with indigenous communities and conservation organizations, creates a model for responsible innovation. George R.R. Martin, author of Game of Thrones and a Colossal investor, captured the wonder of this achievement: "I get the luxury to write about magic, but Ben and Colossal have created magic by bringing these majestic beasts back to our world."
