Colossal Biosciences breeds controversy while trying to revive mammoths

A Texas biotech company is trying to bring mammoths and other extinct creatures back to life. The science is as intriguing as the ethical questions are thorny. NPR Science LISTEN & FOLLOW NPR App Apple Podcasts Spotify Amazon Music iHeart Radio YouTube Music RSS link Sign up for the [TITLE] Newsletter Get perks with [Podcast Title]+ Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free feed. LEARN MORE --> Science Colossal Biosciences breeds controversy while trying to revive mammoths March 4, 20261:53 PM ET Rob Stein Colossal Biosciences scientist Beth Shapiro holds a portion of a woolly mammoth tusk recovered from the Arctic. Rob Stein/NPR hide caption toggle caption Rob Stein/NPR When the elevator doors part on the second floor of a two-story brick and glass building in an office park on the outskirts of downtown Dallas, it feels like a portal opening to a different world. The cavernous lobby is quiet and dimly lit. High ceilings expose pipes and ducts painted black. Glossy white stone floors seem to glow. A video wall silently shows extinct and endangered species and scientists working in white lab coats. A big white animatronic dire wolf perches on a faux stone cliff. Every few seconds, the wolf almost imperceptibly shifts its head, as if scanning the horizon for predators or prey. Sponsor Message "Welcome to our labs," says Ben Lamm, the co-founder and CEO of Colossal Biosciences Inc., the "world's first de-extinction and conservation company." Colossal has the audacious goal of resurrecting extinct species like the woolly mammoth, Tasmanian tiger and dodo bird. In the process, Colossal has been generating both excitement and disdain. Enthusiasts say the company could be creating invaluable tools not only to resurrect ancient species, but also to save creatures on the brink of extinction. Critics say the company's goals are far-fetched and its claims exaggerated. They question whether it would be ethical or safe to bring back extinct species, even if it were possible. Today, Colossal is opening the company's new 55,000-square foot lab to NPR. It's a rare look inside how 260 geneticists, reproductive biologists, ecologists and other scientists are pushing the limits of technologies such as gene-editing, cloning and artificial intelligence to turn the fantasy of Jurassic Park into a different kind of reality. Deeper into the lab We pass what looks like a wooly mammoth encased in ice and make our way through stylish black-walled hallways into the lab where ancient DNA is extracted. "You'll see in the steam hood over here there's a bit of mammoth tusk," says Beth Shapiro, Colossal's chief science officer, as we enter the brightly lit room. Sponsor Message This bit of mammoth tusk is about 2 feet long and looks more like a log than part of a big curved tooth from a hairy beast that roamed the tundra before going extinct thousands of years ago. "You can see this is incredibly well-preserved," says Shapiro as she snaps on a pair of blue rubber gloves. "But this clean part underneath — this looks like it's fresh, right? It does have DNA preserved in it." Shapiro picks up a small electric saw to demonstrate on the jawbone of a bull how scientists extract woolly mammoth DNA from samples like this recovered from the Siberian permafrost. "It smells like DNA. Can you smell it?" Shapiro asks. "Smells like the dentist a little bit, right? That's actually the burning of organic material. So it means that there's some organic material left in it." Colossal scientists are analyzing dozens of mammoth DNA samples and comparing them to genetic material from living elephants to pinpoint critical genes. "This is a way of narrowing down that list of what variants are important to making a mammoth rather than another type of elephant," Shapiro says. Colossal's scientists are using those genetic guideposts to try to create cloned, gene-edited mammoth embryos from the skin cells of Asian elephants, which are the extinct mammoth's closest living relative. The embryos would be transferred into surrogate female Asian elephants in the hopes they'll give birth to mammoths 22 months later. The company says it's getting close and predicts the birth of the first mammoth in about two years. "And that will be our first mammoth," says Shapiro, with a chuckle. "That's the plan." Woolly mice are a stepping stone After leaving the ancient DNA lab, the next stop holds something hidden beneath a black cover. "We're going to show you our woolly mice," says Matt James, Colossal's chief animal officer. "We can take this cover off and we'll let you see them." Sponsor Message In one glass box, four small mouse pups scurry about. In another, a bigger, fluffier adult sits quietly in the white litter. Named Chip, this mouse, and his brother, Dale, were the first two woolly mice produced by Colossal. A "woolly mouse" genetically engineered to have the same kind of coat as extinct woolly mammoths. Rob Stein/NPR hide caption toggle caption Rob Stein/NPR Unlike typical mice with short gray-brown coats, these woolly mice have long dirty-blond hair that mimics the shaggy fur that helped