No, the dire wolf has not been brought back from extinction

Colossal Biosciences claims three pups born recently are dire wolves, but they are actually grey wolves with genetic edits intended to make them resemble the lost species.

https://www.newscientist.com/a...ack-from-extinction/

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:
But... why?

No doubt inspired by The Game of Thrones. Arya needs her protector.

Watch, dragons are next.

Thanks, Johnny for the link. That feeling in the back of my neck like I used to get when (insert situation of the threat of morbid danger and violence about to occur of one's choice here) is subsiding.

C'mon, guys. "Collossal BS"?

This could have consequences.

Pretty sure they were simply found in the spiral tunnels under the Giza pyramids.

We're edging closer to the Resident Evil timeline:

quote:

Originally posted by Johnny 3eagles:
No, the dire wolf has not been brought back from extinction

Colossal Biosciences claims three pups born recently are dire wolves, but they are actually grey wolves with genetic edits intended to make them resemble the lost species.

https://www.newscientist.com/a...ack-from-extinction/

I’m really not in love with genetic edits. I find the idea of playing with nature like this unsettling

Sounds like a big waste of resources to me to get their name in the news.
Maybe better spent on things like trying to cure some terrible affliction.

Some celebrity investors involved too.

"Key Investors
Colossal Biosciences has attracted a mix of investors from various sectors. Key investors include At One Ventures, Draper Associates, the U.S. Innovative Technology Fund and a collection of celebrities like Paris Hilton, Tom Brady, Peter Jackson and Chris Hemsworth."

https://colossal.com/colossal-...-extinction-efforts/

It would be neat if it were really possible to bring back extinct species, but tweaking the genetics of an existing animal to change its appearance and perhaps other characteristics is as far as I can imagine being possible. And tweaking genetics by one means or another has been going on as long as humans have been trying to change nature to make it more to their benefit.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
Ya, let’s just start with bringing back apex predators, what could go wrong?

IM IN!
Hear me out on this for a second...
Let's bring back the proper sized apex predators! Something that can brutally tear a human apart, and feast on their ass. However, be able to be dispatched by a few quick rounds from a decent caliber handgun.


Release them all over the US.

https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...0601935/m/4420075415

Read this ^^^^^

And then there's US. (US as in you, I and the rest of the "right thinking individuals")
Who do you think is going to come out ahead? I believe the reason we have so many stupid people running around is warning labels on everything, and the lack of larger animals capable of eating someone and the fact of society caudles people not smart enough to look both ways before crossing the street. Natural Selection at it's finest!

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Sounds like a big waste of resources to me to get their name in the news.

If you guys read the article, you'll see that's exactly what it is.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Maybe better spent on things like trying to cure some terrible affliction.

Or genetically harden endangered species against extinction, especially in cases where an invasive species was imported by humans to "fix a problem" and unintended consequences occurred.

There's a species of cane toad that now lives in Australia that humans imported to keep sugar cane plants clear of pests. A species of marsupial, the quoll, has been eating these toads for decades now. Problem is, the toad is toxic and is killing off the quoll. This company has isolated a gene in the quoll that gives it upwards of 5,000 times more resistance to the toxin the toad produces.

Now, could that have unintended consequences? Absolutely. But it is something that has practical application, and by getting into the news cycle by genetically editing modern gray wolves to match dire wolves, they can help draw investors.

They're also working with our native red wolf population, and have identified a number of "ghost alleles" that are no longer expressed in the population due to lack of genetic diversity. As the population has shrunk, genetics that would have helped to keep the population healthier have been lost. They've apparently isolated some of those genetics, bred wolves that have these genetics expressed and I can't recall whether they've been reintroduced or are in the stages of it, but it should help an endangered species from going extinct.

But yes, much more fun to talk about ice age cloned wolves fighting AI terminators and bemoan that they're not curing cancer instead.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Just wait until they start doing it with humans (if they haven't already).

I took a bioethics and law course almost twenty five years ago and the professor was pretty adamant that they'd never admit it, but for sure, the Chinese had been at it for a while by then.

I was just down in LA and visited the La Brea Tar Pits.....they've got thousands of Dire Wolf skeletons and parts. They weren't smart enough to recognize that their brethren who didn't come back, kept getting stuck.

https://tarpits.org/stories/ou...standing-dire-wolves

I have to wonder what the litter size was for those Dire wolves all those thousands of years ago. Why does that matter. It matters because these pups weren't born in a vacuum and part of a Wolf or Dog's development hinges on other pups within the womb of the mother. In addition having siblings to play with after birth teaches critical social skills they will use all their lives.

BTW, I first learned about this researching puppies and the best breed that would suit my needs. Stumbled across an article about "singular puppies" and what happened to them. Basically if you have a solitary puppy you will end up with a very disturbed dog. Inserting them into another litter does help a bit but the end result is an anti social dog that won't trust either humans or dogs. Reading between the lines a bit I expect that breeders with dogs that have a solitary puppy destroy them at birth.

Basically these cloned animals will become unmanageable at some point and they will have to be separated to keep them from killing each other. Any studies about these animals behaviors will be deeply flawed due to their complete lack of being gestated in a litter of a size comparable for the original animals.

Basically many millions of dollars just got flushed down the toilet.

I once spent a couple of years in the companionship of a Wolf / Malamute Hybrid.
What an experience that was! Now I am a cat person.

So how long until we start seeing ads for Dire Doodle puppies?

^^^