For years, Colossal Biosciences has strived to bring the woolly mammoth back from extinction. Though the Dallas-based biotech company has yet to succeed in this specific endeavor, they’ve recreated the megafauna in a smaller, and perhaps cuter, form: the woolly mouse.
Much like a mammoth, these woolly mice boast thick, hairy, and golden coats, marking a significant step toward Colossal’s ultimate goal in resurrecting the Ice Age giant. Colossal’s scientists managed to “create” these mice by examining ancient mammoth DNA from preserved skin, bone, and hair, seeking out which genes controlled traits such as coat texture, cold tolerance, and fat stores.
Once these genes were identified, the team implanted genetically modified embryos in female lab mice. In October 2024, those lab mice gave birth to the first of the woolly pups, all of whom, according to Beth Shapiro, Colossal’s chief science officer, donned “longer, woolly, golden-colored coats.” They also had similar fat as mammoths, allowing them to withstand colder temperatures.
“For us, it’s an incredibly big deal,” Beth Shapiro, chief science officer at Colossal, tells NPR. “This is really validation that what we have in mind for our longer-term de-extinction project is really going to work.”
Co-founded in 2021 by entrepreneur Ben Lamm and Harvard biologist George Church, Colossal aims to confront our current environmental crises through de-extinction efforts, focusing specifically on species such as the woolly mammoth, the dodo bird, and the thylacine. Colossal claims that, by reviving these ancient creatures, current ecosystems may benefit from their arrival: mammoths, for instance, could tamp down Arctic permafrost and reduce how much of it thaws and releases methane.
“Our intention is to re-create these extinct species that played really important roles in ecosystems that are missing because they've become extinct,” Shapiro explains.
Regardless, some in the field have expressed doubts about the project, posing questions about its ultimate effectiveness.
“We’re looking at a warming world,” Elsa Panciroli, a paleontologist at National Museums Scotland, who studies ancient mice-sized mammals, tells Scientific American. “Lack of habitat, human conflict, agriculture, climate change—the idea that they can fix that with gene editing is missing the big picture.”
It’s clear, however, that these woolly mice may have a mammoth impact on Colossal’s future investigations into the extinct megafauna. In fact, scientists intend to edit the embryos of Asian elephants next and implant these into female elephants. They hope to produce mammoth-like Asian elephant embryos by next year and birth the first calves by 2028.
Colossal has published a full scientific report about the woolly mouse, which can be read in its entirety on bioRxiv. To stay updated on upcoming developments, visit the Colossal Bioscience website.
Scientists at Colossal Bioscience have created the “woolly mouse,” the first step toward their goal of resurrecting the woolly mammoth.
Much like a mammoth, these woolly mice boast hairy, golden coats and more layers of fat to protect against the cold.
Colossal Bioscience: Website | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Colossal Bioscience.
Sources: Company Seeking to Resurrect the Woolly Mammoth Creates a ‘Woolly Mouse'; Hoping to revive mammoths, scientists create ‘woolly mice'; Multiplex-edited mice recapitulate woolly mammoth hair phenotypes
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