Scientists trying to bring back the woolly mammoth have created a woolly mouse.
Colossal Biosciences unveiled plans in 2021 to revive the woolly mammoth – and later the dodo bird – attracting investors, headlines and critics alike.
The Texas-based biotech company has since focused on identifying the key traits of extinct animals with the goal of genetically engineering them into living animals, according to chief executive Ben Lamm.
Read more: Why ‘de-extincting’ the mammoth won’t be like Jurassic Park
Alongside bringing back species that went extinct, the company hopes their work can be used to help with conservation efforts.
But other scientists have mixed views of their work and whether it will be helpful.
On Tuesday, Colossal Biosciences said its researchers had edited seven genes in mice embryos to create a mouse with long, thick, woolly hair.
They nicknamed the extra-furry rodent a “colossal woolly mouse.”
The company now plans to genetically modify Asian elephants to give them woolly mammoth traits – but critics have argued that this is different from actually bringing a species back from extinction.
“You’re not actually resurrecting anything – you’re not bringing back the ancient past,” said Christopher Preston, a wildlife and environment expert at the University of Montana, who was not involved in the research.
He added: “You might be able to alter the hair pattern of an Asian elephant or adapt it to the cold, but it’s not bringing back a woolly mammoth. It’s changing an Asian elephant.”
The results have not yet been published in a journal or vetted by independent scientists.
The feat “is technologically pretty cool,” said Vincent Lynch, a biologist at the University of Buffalo, who was not involved in the research.
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Alongside the mouse being given different hair, in a press release, Colossal Biosciences said the rodent had also gained the woolly mammoth’s accelerated fat metabolism.
Both were said to be likely related to cold tolerance.
These genetic variations were already present in some living mice, the company’s chief scientist Beth Shapiro said, adding: “We put them all together in a single mouse.”
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The company said it focused first on mice to confirm the process worked before potentially moving onto the embryos of Asian elephants – the closest living relative of woolly mammoths.
However, as Asian elephants are an endangered species, there will be a lot of red tape before any plans can move forward, Mr Lamm admitted.
