Biotech firm brings beasts back from extinction

A BIOTECH company has announced that the dire wolf, an extinct species immortalised by the hit TV show Game of Thrones, has been resurrected after more than 10,000 years.

- BY LEE GRIMSDITCH

Colossal Biosciences, a Texas-based firm, revealed on Monday that its team had successfully used cloning and gene-editing techniques with two ancient DNA samples of dire wolves to create three living pups.

Two six-month-old males were named Romulus and Remus, while a three-month-old female was named Khaleesi after the fantasy series character.

Colossal's chief Ben Lamm hailed the breakthrough as a "massive milestone".

He said: "I could not be more proud of the team. This massive milestone is the first of many coming examples demonstrating that our end-to-end de-extinction technology stack works.

"Our team took DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull and made healthy dire wolf puppies. It was once said, 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic'. Today, our team gets to unveil some of the magic they are working on and its broader impact on conservation."