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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsNot in the sense of bringing the extinct species back. In April 2025, Colossal Biosciences announced three animals it called dire wolves. The reported process used ancient dire wolf DNA to guide a limited number of edits to gray wolf cells, then cloned those cells. UC Santa Cruz describes the animals as genetically modified gray wolves with selected dire-wolf-like traits—not exact replicas of the extinct species.
What did Colossal do?
The project combined ancient-DNA analysis with genetic engineering and cloning. Colossal says its team examined 46 dire wolf remains and recovered 0.1% of the genome. Those figures come from the company’s own science page; they are not an independent audit of how much usable genetic information was recovered.
UC Santa Cruz researchers analyzed a dire wolf tooth and skull from separate specimens. They extracted DNA, prepared sequencing libraries and carried out quality-control sequencing. A preprint describing the work was released on April 11, 2025. At the time of Colossal’s announcement, the paper had not yet been peer reviewed.
The ancient DNA helped researchers identify genetic sequences associated with traits they wanted to reproduce. The animals themselves were not cloned from preserved dire wolf cells: the reported method began with gray wolf genetic material, edited selected locations, and cloned the edited cells using domestic-dog surrogates.
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How similar are the animals to extinct dire wolves?
Scientific American reported that the animals carry 20 edits across 14 genome locations, and that 15 of those edits reportedly matched sequences identified in dire wolf genomes. That is a limited set of changes, not a complete dire wolf genome inserted into a modern wolf. The full list of edits had not been released when Scientific American published its account.
That distinction matters because an animal’s genome is not reducible to a handful of visible traits. The available account describes targeted genetic changes intended to produce selected characteristics; it does not establish that the resulting animals share the extinct species’ complete genetic makeup, behavior, or ecological role.
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| Question | Extinct dire wolf | Animals announced in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| What are they? | An extinct canid species. | Genetically modified gray wolves, as described by UC Santa Cruz. |
| Where did their genetic material come from? | The ancient dire wolf genome. | Gray wolf cells with selected edits informed by ancient dire wolf DNA. |
| How many changes were reported? | Not applicable to the extinct animal. | 20 edits across 14 locations, as reported by Scientific American. |
| Are they exact replicas? | The original animals. | No; UC Santa Cruz says they are not exact replicas. |
Why is “de-extinction” disputed?
Colossal presents the project as de-extinction and calls the animals dire wolves. But scientists do not agree on what would qualify as bringing an extinct species back. Some emphasize genetic similarity; others argue that the label should also require the ability to reproduce and sustain a population, recover relevant behavior, or restore an ecological role.
Colossal chief science officer Beth Shapiro acknowledged a central limitation in an interview with New Scientist, reproduced by Live Science: “It’s not possible to bring something back that is identical to a species that used to be alive. Our animals are grey wolves with 20 edits that are cloned.”
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Critics quoted by Scientific American and Chemical & Engineering News argue that a small set of edits cannot recreate the extinct species in full, and that behavior and ecological role matter when judging restoration. Scientific American reported that the IUCN Canid Specialist Group did not consider the animals dire wolves or proxies under its framing of de-extinction. These are positions in an active scientific debate, not a universally settled definition. Stem-cell biologist Jeanne Loring, quoted by Scientific American, put her view plainly: “I don’t think they de-extincted anything.”
What did researchers learn about dire wolf ancestry?
UC Santa Cruz reported that roughly two-thirds of the dire wolf genome appears to come from an ancestor shared with wolves and coyotes, while roughly one-third is from an ancient lineage related to South American dogs. This finding concerns the evolutionary history of the extinct animal. It does not mean the engineered gray wolves carry or reproduce the dire wolf genome.
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Are dire wolves back—and what does this mean for conservation?
If “back” means that animals with selected dire-wolf-like traits have been produced, Colossal’s announcement describes such animals. If it means that the extinct species itself has returned, the available evidence does not establish that. The animals are edited gray wolves, not clones made from preserved dire wolf cells.
The work demonstrates a way to use ancient DNA to inform targeted genetic edits and cloning. That is not, by itself, proof that the project has restored an extinct species or its ecological function. Assessing a restoration claim involves more than counting edits: genetic similarity, the ability to reproduce and maintain a population, behavior, ecological role, transparency about the changes, peer review, and demonstrated conservation benefit all matter. Researchers quoted in Scientific American and Chemical & Engineering News disagree about how those criteria should be weighed.
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