Today, Explained The startup that cried dire wolf
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Apr 24, 2025 
DT Maxx, a writer from The New Yorker and an eyewitness to dire wolves, joins Robert Klitzman, a Columbia professor and bioethics expert, to discuss the controversial claim of reviving these ancient creatures. They delve into the science behind genetic modification, weighing the ambitious technological leaps against ethical concerns. The conversation highlights the potential risks of de-extinction and questions humanity's role in nature. Listeners are left pondering the moral implications of bringing back lost species in a changing ecosystem.
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Diet Direwolves: What They Are
- Colossal created "diet direwolves" by editing gray wolf DNA to include select dire wolf genes.
- These animals look and behave like dire wolves but are genetically distinct from original extinct dire wolves.
Ben Lamb and George Church's Vision
- Ben Lamb is an entrepreneur who collaborated with Harvard's George Church to start Colossal.
- They use massive funding to de-extinct animals and develop biomedical tech to sell.
Technical Challenges and Speed
- De-extinction is technically difficult and costly, requiring steps like reading ancient DNA then engineering embryos.
- Colossal moves faster funded by private capital versus slower, grant-dependent university labs.
