
Scientists at a company called Colossal Biosciences created these “Dire Wolf” pups using gene editing. They first extracted pieces of ancient Dire Wolf DNA from two fossils, and used that to map out their genomes.
Then, they compared that to the DNA of a bunch of different wolves and pinpointed the places that made Dire Wolves unique - like for example the LCORL gene, responsible for their larger size.
Then, using the DNA of a close relative, the Gray Wolf, they edited 14 genes that made Dire Wolves unique - and swapped this DNA into an egg that was then fertilized and put into a surrogate dog. The (adorable) pups are larger, more muscular and have white coats and this unique howl...
The big hope is to one day restore some of the world’s lost biodiversity.
This company also created the “woolly mouse” and plans to make more species as well.
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