(Image via npr.org)

Staff Writer: Emma Bowser

Email: ebowser@umassd.edu 

A genetics company called Colossal has revealed that they have been successful in using DNA sequencing to create a breed of mouse that has woolly mammoth fur. The researchers accomplished this by implanting modified embryos in female lab mice. 

They also gave the mice genes related to a method of metabolizing fat to make them more resistant to cold weather; however, their thick, golden fur is what sets them apart visually, making them look like pom-poms with tails.

This study intends to be the foundation for experimentation with woolly mammoth genetic traits that can be tested in mice. “Future work will evaluate additional mammoth-specific variants associated with other cold-adaptive traits,” the scientific report reads.

According to Colossal, this experiment with mice is just one step in their plan to bring back the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), or as they put it, to “de-extinct” it. 

They claim that their definition of de-extinction is different and that “de-extinction is not just about making an organism that is or resembles an extinct species. It’s about merging the biodiversity of the past with the innovations of the present in an effort to create a more sustainable future.”

However, mice are obviously not wooly mammoths. 

Colossal’s plan requires using Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and the genetic modifications that have been tested in the mice to de-extinct woolly mammoths. 

Colossal does mention that because they will be using Asian elephants, their woolly mammoths won’t be true woolly mammoths, creating a ship of Theseus (or woolly mammoth of Theseus) situation.

“Further, ethical considerations regarding the experimental manipulation of elephants, an endangered species with complex social structures and high cognitive capabilities, necessitate alternative approaches for functional testing,” the authors of the experiment highlight.

The authors of the article have also filed a patent application based on the results of this work.

The woolly mammoth project is one of many projects using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR).

Other de-extinction projects include the thylacine (Tasmanian tiger) and dodo bird using processes similar to what is described in the Jurassic Park movies.

Colossal was founded by Ben Lamm (CEO) and George Church, PhD (co-founder and lead genetics researcher). Both are researchers in the study, titled, “Multiplex-edited mice recapitulate woolly mammoth hair phenotypes” on bioRxiv.

Ben Lamm’s interests include space and climate change, and he’s a member of the Explorer’s Club, which is “a multidisciplinary society dedicated to the advancement of field research, scientific exploration and resource conservation,” according to their website. 

He is also a member of the Planetary Society, an advisory board member for the Arch Mission, and the CEO of Hypergiant, “an enterprise AI software company focused on critical infrastructure, space and defense acquired by Trive Capital.”

George Church has achieved multiple notable accomplishments in science, such as developing “the first direct genomic sequencing method and barcode-multiplexing tags” during the 1990s and pioneering “chip-based DNA libraries, genome editing, and stem cell engineering” in addition to biosecurity and bioethics.

He is currently a professor at Harvard, where he runs the Church lab at Harvard Medical School, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he leads their synthetic biology programs.