About

Colossal Biosciences is a Dallas, Texas-based biotechnology company started by geneticist George Church and entrepreneur Ben Lamm. The company specializes in using CRISPR technology to undertake "de-extinction" projects. The company gained traction in early 2025 after they introduced genetically altered "woolly mice" and claimed to have resurrected the extinct "dire wolf." The veracity of the company's claims has been disputed by internet users who call for stronger distinctions between genetic alterations and "de-extinction," saying that the company has merely managed to genetically alter mice and grey wolves and has not "brought back" any lost species. Other criticism levied against the company comes from its ties to German-American billionaire investor and tech mogul Peter Thiel and the CIA's venture capital arm In-Q-Tel. Colossal Biosciences and the company's work on various animals have become the subject of numerous memes in the 2020s, especially in early 2025 surrounding its claims of bringing back the dire wolf.

History

Colossal Biosciences was officially launched on September 13, 2021, by Harvard geneticist George Church and tech entrepreneur Ben Lamm, who bonded over a shared interest in de-extinction. According to the New York Times,^[1] Church had long been experimenting with resurrecting woolly mammoth traits in elephants, while Lamm brought startup experience and fundraising capacity.

Notably, co-founder George Church received $100,000 from tech investor Peter Thiel to support early de-extinction research. The CIA's venture capital arm, In-Q-Tel, has also invested in Colossal, alongside investors like Tim Draper and the Winklevoss twins.^[2]

According to a May 4th, 2022, video posted to the Colossal Biosciences official YouTube^[3] channel, the company positions itself as a "de-extinction" startup, claiming to use CRISPR and other gene-editing tools to "bring back lost species" by creating close genetic approximations of them.

De-Extinction Projects

The woolly mammoth has been Colossal's flagship project since its launch in 2021. The company aims to create a woolly mammoth-elephant hybrid by editing Asian elephant genomes to express mammoth traits. By 2025, the team has achieved over 20 targeted gene edits, created headway in implanting genetically altered embryos in Asian and African elephants, and worked toward eradicating genetic diseases ravaging North African elephants.^[4]

On August 16th, 2022, Natural Geographic^[5] reported that Colossal had partnered with the University of Melbourne's Thylacine Integrated Genetic Restoration Research Lab to restore the thylacine, also known as the Tasmanian tiger, extinct since 1936. Efforts include sequencing the genome of the fat-tailed dunnart, a related marsupial, to facilitate gene editing and potential surrogate gestation. ​

In January 2023, Colossal announced plans to resurrect the dodo, extinct since the late 1600s.^[6] Collaborating with the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, the project focuses on genome sequencing and developing avian reproductive technologies, aiming to reintroduce the bird to Mauritius.

Online Presence

On March 4th, 2025, Colossal Biosciences went viral for creating "woolly mice," mice genetically altered to give them the "woolly" gene. The company introduced the mice as a step toward their goal of the "de-extinction" of the woolly mammoth.^[7] Times magazine posted a video of the woolly mice to its X^[8] account on March 4, gathering over 53,000 likes in a month.

Scientists have bred woolly mice on their journey to bring back the mammoth. https://t.co/95Xlx37Qz8 pic.twitter.com/KcG7ChMIGD

— TIME (@TIME) March 4, 2025

Some internet users posted fan art of the woolly mice, including X^[9][10] users @Miurgen and @comdost_vtuber, who gathered over 100,000 and 16,000 likes, respectively, in one month on posts made on March 8th and March 5th, 2025.

'Dire Wolf' Pups

On April 7th, 2025, the biotech company went viral again after it announced the birth of three genetically engineered wolf pups, Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi. Scientists reportedly used DNA from two ancient samples, a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old ear bone, to identify key differences between dire wolves and modern gray wolves. They then edited 14 genes in gray wolf cells to match 20 dire wolf traits. The edited cells were used to create 45 embryos, which were implanted in two surrogate dogs.^[11]

A video about the "Dire Wolf Pups" was posted to the company's YouTube^[12] channel on April 7th, gathering over 500,000 views in a day. The wolves were named Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi, the former two named after the wolves from the mythological story about the founding of Ancient Rome and the latter inspired by the book and television series Game of Thrones.

Also on April 7th, 2025, Colossal Biosciences co-founder Ben Lamm went on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast to talk about his company, its achievements, and the Dire Wolf Pup announcement. The video^[15] gathered over 500,000 views in a day.

On April 7th, 2025, Redditor^[16] /u/Ultravioletdiamond82 posted a video, titled "The First Dire Wolf Howls in Over 10,000 Years," to the subreddit /r/MadeMeSmile, gathering over 26,000 upvotes in a day.

Several internet users reacted with skepticism about the news that Colossal Sciences had truly "brought back" the dire wolf, noting that they had managed to alter much of the genetic code of a grey wolf to give it traits resembling the dire wolf.

For example, on April 7th, 2025, X^[13] user @Trey_Explainer tweeted a Nothing Ever Happens meme noting this fact, gathering over 10,000 likes in a day.

Also on April 7th, X^[14] user and scientist Jiankui He (@Jiankui_He) wrote, "Dire wolf is bioweapons," gathering over 12,000 likes in a day.

That same day, Redditors on the /r/Paleontology subreddit discussed the ethics of calling the genetically engineered wolf pups "dire wolves," given that no actual dire wolf DNA was spliced into the pups and the fact that dire wolves evolved on an evolutionary tract separate from modern wolves and likely did not resemble the larger, furry, white wolves seen on Game of Thrones.

Search Interest

External References