Context:
In a groundbreaking achievement, scientists have successfully revived the Dire Wolf, an ancient predator that went extinct nearly 12,500 years ago, using cutting-edge Genetic Engineering techniques.
More on the News
- This remarkable feat was made possible by Colossal Biosciences, a Texas-based company specializing in de-extinction efforts.
- The company described the birth of the pups as the world’s first successful de-extinction, calling them “functional copies of something that used to be alive, “referring to the extinct Dire Wolf.
- The company had genetically engineered three grey wolf pups, two male and one female, to carry key traits of the Dire Wolf, a species that went extinct over 10,000 years ago.
- The pups were born using cutting-edge DNA analysis, CRISPR gene editing, and innovative cloning techniques like endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs).
What is De-extinction?
De-extinction, or resurrection biology, is the method of creating a species that went extinct or is endangered to revitalise ecological diversity and balance shattered due to reasons ranging from biodiversity loss to climate change.
Method Used in De-extinction:
- Cloning is the most widely used method ex. EPCs based cloning.
- Other techniques include Genome editing (e.g., CRISPR) and Selective Breeding.
One of the earliest attempts was the Pyrenean ibex, resurrected using somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), even though the baby Ibex died minutes after its birth from a lung defect.