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Sciences Fact-check publié le 08/04/2025

✅ Dire wolf brought back from extinction

Le post original

SOUND ON 🔈: You’re hearing the first howl of a dire wolf in over 10,000 years. Meet Romulus and Remus—the world’s first de-extinct animals, born on October 1, 2024. The dire wolf has been extinct for over 10,000 years. These two wolves were brought back from extinction using genetic edits derived from a complete dire wolf genome, meticulously reconstructed by Colossal from ancient DNA found in fossils dating back 11,500 and 72,000 years. This moment marks not only a milestone for us as a company but also a leap forward for science, conservation, and humanity. From the beginning, our goal has been clear: “To revolutionize history and be the first company to use CRISPR technology successfully in the de-extinction of previously lost species.” By achieving this, we continue to push forward our broader mission on—accepting humanity’s duty to restore Earth to a healthier state. But this isn’t just our moment—it’s one for science, our planet, and humankind. All of which we love and are passionate about. Now, close your eyes and listen to that howl once more. Think about what this means for all of us.
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Le fact-check

✅ Mostly true However, it's worth noting that the genome (DNA) of the gray wolf contains approximately 2.4 billion base pairs, and the two species — gray wolf and dire wolf — share about 99.5% of their DNA. Colossal Biosciences has made just 20 genetic edits across 14 genes in the gray wolf's DNA to make the resulting animals resemble dire wolves. The edited embryos were then implanted into surrogate domestic dog mothers. But does that make them true dire wolves? In reality, this is more about genetically modifying the gray wolf to look like a dire wolf, rather than actually resurrecting the dire wolf as it existed over 10,000 years ago. After all, the DNA of these animals is still that of the gray wolf — not the dire wolf. A 2021 genetic study showed that the last common ancestor of the gray wolf and dire wolf lived around 6 million years ago. Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g9ejy3gdvo

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8 avr. 2025 • 12:18

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8 avr. 2025 • 12:33

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✅ Mostly true However, it's worth noting that the genome (DNA) of the gray wolf contains approximately 2.4 billion base pairs, and the two species — gray wolf and dire wolf — share about 99.5% of their DNA. Colossal Biosciences has made just 20 genetic edits across 14 genes in the gray wolf's DNA to make the resulting animals resemble dire wolves. The edited embryos were then implanted into surrogate domestic dog mothers. But does that make them true dire wolves? In reality, this is more about genetically modifying the gray wolf to look like a dire wolf, rather than actually resurrecting the dire wolf as it existed over 10,000 years ago. After all, the DNA of these animals is still that of the gray wolf — not the dire wolf. A 2021 genetic study showed that the last common ancestor of the gray wolf and dire wolf lived around 6 million years ago. Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g9ejy3gdvo

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