Are the Dire Wolves Really Back?

After the 'Game of Thrones' craze, the dire wolves are back, this time for real. The Texas-based biotech firm Colossal Biosciences recently announced that their genetic engineering project led to the birth of three dire wolf pups. 

The pups have been named Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi, but their DNA is almost identical to that of the grey wolf, which has led to criticism of the company's claims. 

Characteristics of Dire Wolves

Dire wolves were once dominant predators in North America, and they were strong and built heavier than modern wolves. 

Despite their heavier build, they were strong predators that hunted big animals and they could easily move through different environments. 

They were driven to extinction, most likely because of human hunting, which led to the rise of grey wolves to shift from northern Canada and Alaska downwards to take on the dire wolf's role. 

How Did the Scientists Bring the Dire Wolves Back?

The scientists from Colossal Biosciences extracted the DNA from two ancient dire wolf specimens — a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old ear bone.

The scientists used a specific technology to cut the DNA at a certain spot and the scientists edited the genome grey wolf cells to integrate 20 genetic variants associated with the dire wolf.

The genetic material was inserted into a dog cell from a domestic dog. After the embryos had developed, they were inserted into surrogate dogs, which led to the birth of the pups after sixty-two days. 

Although the company has claimed they have de-extincted dire wolves, experts have said otherwise. Paleogeneticist Dr. Nic Rawlence from Otago University in New Zealand told the BBC that DNA from fossilised remains is too damaged to be biologically cloned, emphasizing that this de-extinction is not possible.  

Collosal plans to monitor the pup's growth and health and pursue further de-extinction projects including other animals including like woolly mammoth. 

This article was previously published on omanmoments. To see the original article, click here