"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should," said Jeff Goldblum's character Dr Ian Malcolm in the 1993 blockbuster "Jurassic Park".
People could be saying something similar in just a few decades' time about a major announcement by a Dallas-based biotechnology and genetic engineering company about its efforts to revive the long-extinct woolly mammoth.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
According to Colossal's own definition of "de-extinction", the company wants to create an elephant that "both resembles and is genetically similar to an extinct species" – essentially, one that biologically mimics their ancient sister species.
How does this cell technology work?
PSCs exist in embryos and can become almost any type of cell. Colossal specifies that its pluripotent stem cells are "induced" because they were bioengineered in a lab. This is the first time that iPSCs have been derived from elephants, said New Scientist.
"What's beautiful about the cells is they can potentially renew indefinitely and differentiate into any cell type of the body," said Eriona Hysolli, head of biological sciences at Colossal.
Not only can these iPSCs be used in Colossal's primary goal of creating an animal biologically similar to woolly mammoths, they can help to improve our understanding of the endangered Asian elephants they came from, said Oliver Ryder, director of conservation genetics at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.
Ryder, who isn't involved in Colossal's research, told NPR that its work "opens up new possibilities for conserving species' genetic diversity, preventing extinction and contributing to the sustainability of species".
What is the end goal?
Colossal isn't trying to create a woolly mammoth simulacrum just for kicks, said Wired. The start-up hopes its research will eventually produce an animal that can play the ecological role that woolly mammoths once did in the Arctic ecosystem – "grazing the land and trampling snow cover, potentially decelerating the melting of permafrost".
A small 2020 study conducted in Siberia indicated some evidence of lower soil temperatures in areas where large mammals were historically present. But some experts have disagreed with this approach, stressing that the uniquely rapid rate of warming occurring in the Arctic would make it difficult for specially adapted elephants to make much difference.
Many other concerns have been raised too. The Asian elephants that Colossal relies on for its cells are endangered. Once their work progresses, they will need to use them as surrogate mothers as well too.
The combined dangers of cloning, genetic engineering and surrogacy have led King’s College London stem cell expert Dusko Ilic to call for "careful consideration of the ethical implications and consequences" of this project. "There are bound to be failed attempts," he told New Scientist. "How many elephant cows will have to be subjected to the experimental pregnancies?"
Gabriela Mastromonaco, senior director of wildlife science at Toronto Zoo, suggested that the focus should be shifted back to the present rather than trying to resurrect the past, calling Colossal's research "a distraction".
"There are so many species going extinct today. We're actually not going to be able to help any of them if we're thinking about the wooly mammoth," she told NPR.
What will happen next?
The team next needs to edit the DNA of these iPSCs to carry the desired traits of a woolly mammoth using fossil-extracted mammoth DNA. Colossal's iPSC conclusions have not yet been peer-reviewed and further research is necessary.
Speaking to CNN, George Church, a geneticist at Harvard University and Colossal's co-founder, laid out three benchmarks that the scientists are working towards.
The first would be a fully formed and viable engineered elephant, which he projected as being possible within "six years from 2021". He said the next "major milestones" would be the development of an elephant that's resistant to the cold, and if the project is "scalable" and "doesn't involve surrogates". That final step is "an unknown distance out".
-
The 8 best biopic movies of the 21st century (so far!)the week recommends Not all true stories are feel good tales, but the best biopics offer insight into broader social and political trends
-
Washington grapples with ICE’s growing footprint — and futureTALKING POINTS The deadly provocations of federal officers in Minnesota have put ICE back in the national spotlight
-
‘One day fentanyl will come back — and there will be little anyone can do’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Cows can use tools, scientists reportSpeed Read The discovery builds on Jane Goodall’s research from the 1960s
-
The Iberian Peninsula is rotating clockwiseUnder the radar We won’t feel it in our lifetime
-
The ‘eclipse of the century’ is coming in 2027Under the radar It will last for over 6 minutes
-
NASA discovered ‘resilient’ microbes in its cleanroomsUnder the radar The bacteria could contaminate space
-
The mysterious origin of a lemon-shaped exoplanetUnder the radar It may be made from a former star
-
The moon is rustingUnder the radar The Earth is likely to blame
-
Parthenogenesis: the miracle of 'virgin births' in the animal kingdomThe Explainer Asexual reproduction, in which females reproduce without males by cloning themselves, has been documented in multiple species
-
Canyons under the Antarctic have deep impactsUnder the radar Submarine canyons could be affecting the climate more than previously thought
