What is the truth about a few months of nightmare puppies? Are they real?

Colossal Biosciences now claims to have revived an extinct species, the nightmare (in Hungarian officially to giant wolf It is called in Latin Aenocyon Dirus is previously called Canis Dirus, in which dirus means terrible). The company on your website The following reads: « For the first time in October 1, 2024, in the history of humanity, Colossus successfully restored a once extinct species with the help of extinction science. After more than 10,000 years of missing out, our team is proud to return the nightmare in the ecosystem. » Nice, beautiful, but is that true?

What you know so far

The Biotechnology Society said three genetically modified gray wolves-two males, Romulus and Remus, and a female named Khalees-were born in January, and these are nightmares. The same company recently announced that woolly mice and created an almost complete Tasmántigris genom- Write the New Scientist.

The nightmares are extinct dogs that lived in America about 10,000 years ago. The animals resembled large -bodied white coat wolves. The TV series The Battle of the Thrones made them famous, and they also took the name of Khalees, after one of the main characters in the series.

Previously, gray wolves and nightmares were believed to be very close relatives based on their physical similarity, but ancient DNA A 2021 study showed that they had a common ancestor about 6 million years ago. The jackals, the African wild dogs and the Asian wild dogs, the naves, are all closer to the gray wolves (Canis lupus) than the nightmares, despite the similar appearance.

Beth Shapiro, a Colossal associate, said his team sequenced the entire genome of the gray wolf and will soon disclose it. 99.5 percent of the DNA of the two species are common. However, as the gray wolf genome is about 2.4 billion base pairs, it still offers millions of base pairs.

Nevertheless, Colossal claims to be only 20 with gene editing He made a nightmare of a gray wolf. In fact, there are five mutations that are known to result in a clear coat for gray wolves, Shapiro admitted to the British scientific portal. Only 15 are based directly on the genetic stock of nightmares, which are aimed at changing the size, muscles and ear shape of animals. According to Shapiro, it takes about a year to find out if these changes have made the desired effect on genetically modified animals.

So, of course, it is doubtful that we have to deal with nightmares … Rather, we could say that they are genetically treated gray wolves that are a bit like nightmares. These animals are now being raised in an 800 -hectare reserve where they are observed and cared for. They are not planned to reproduce.

It won’t be a big money from the nightmare

And, more importantly, they are probably instinctively like a gray wolf, so they would play the same role in today’s ecosystems. In fact, it was assumed that the nightmare was destroyed during the late Pleistocene extinction because it specialized in the big prey, which was also extinct. So it is not clear that even if we could bring the nightmare back, do we know what to do with them – note the Astechnika.

However, Colossal looks farther than creating creatures that can be interpreted as circus or zoo stunts. The technologies they use will be used to preserve endangered species. Their work would be plenty because of the genetic diversity of the planet 30 percent will be taken by 2050 According to the center of biological diversity. Investors also see the potential in the company as they have already raised more than $ 10 billion. Thus, it is possible to employ 130 scientists. Not only do these professionals basis scientific programs but also create significant business potential. THE According to Time Magazine Ben Lamm, the company’s CEO, sees a lot of commercial potential in the technologies developed by his scientific team.

Colossal has already separated two new companies. One listens to the name Breaking that uses artificial microbes and enzymes in the to break down plastic waste. Another Form Bio delivers artificial intelligence and computer biology platforms for drug development. And none of them use the basic cell and gene technology expertise of Colossal, which has countless applications in the biomedial area, including the treatment and prevention of diseases. « These genome engineering technologies alone are worth tens of billions of dollars, » Lamm told Time. Even if not the woolly mammoths or the nightmares, the owners of Colossal can still make nice money.