From woolly mice to woolly mammoths

Woolly mammoth stages a comeback - 31st March 2025

A biotech company in the US is seeking to resurrect the woolly mammoth, an elephantid that last walked the Earth over 4,000 years ago. And the firm at the centre of this de-extinction programme, is employing state-of-the-art genetic editing to realise their ambitious goal.

The preserved remains of mammoths, exposed by thawing ice caps, have been a mineable resource for quality genomes. Contrasting this data with the DNA of the Asian elephant has isolated characteristic traits, such as the mammoth's shaggy coat.

Assessing test results in elephants would be complex and time-consuming due to their lengthy gestation periods. Consequently, the researchers turned to a mischief of mice to further their experiments, editing relevant genes in the creatures. The most clearly visible of these targeted amendments are the rodent's longer fur and its more golden appearance, attributable to a change in melanin production.

Ben Lamm, the CEO of Colossal Biosciences, is confident that the woolly mouse marks a massive leap forward in plans for the de-extinction of the woolly mammoth - or at least a cold-adapted elephant. He declared, "We are on track to have the first cold-adapted elephant by 2028," and anticipates "having the first embryos by the end of 2026."

Lamm's convinced that de-extinction is crucial to safeguard biodiversity and "will awaken the lost wilds of Earth". However, such claims have been met with criticism from experts for multiple reasons, including scientific, ethical and regarding feasibility.

"Although it is branded as "woolly mammoth de-extinction", what is being proposed is an experiment to test the effect of certain gene edits on the appearance of elephants," commented Dr Tori Herridge, Senior Lecturer of Biosciences at the University of Sheffield on Science Media Centre. Meanwhile, on the same website, Dr Saad Arif from Oxford Brookes University warned, "The idea of birthing a mammoth via an elephant surrogacy will surely raise ethical concerns". Others, like Dr Louise Johnson from the University of Reading, were more dismissive, writing, "The idea we could bring back something from extinction is a false hope."

Despite this, Colossal is sticking to its guns. They claim on their website that their enterprise will fix extinction.