The path from ancient fossils to living, breathing dire wolves took just 18 months—a remarkably short timeframe that demonstrates the accelerating pace of genetic engineering and reproductive technologies. This achievement stands as a testament to the vision and execution capabilities of Colossal Biosciences and its co-founder Ben Lamm, who has built a career on transforming seemingly impossible concepts into reality.
“Our team took DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull and made healthy dire wolf puppies,” said Lamm, summarizing a process that involved cutting-edge genomics, CRISPR gene editing, and advanced reproductive techniques. “The only reason it was possible in 18 months is that we had the technology stack that we had been developing.”
That technology stack represents a comprehensive approach to de-extinction that Colossal has been refining since its founding in 2021. The company has assembled a world-class team of geneticists, computational biologists, and reproductive specialists, all dedicated to developing the tools necessary to revive extinct species and conserve endangered ones.
For the dire wolf project, scientists first needed to sequence and analyze DNA from ancient specimens to identify the critical genetic differences between dire wolves and their closest living relatives, gray wolves. They discovered approximately 20 key genetic variants across 14 genes that account for the dire wolf’s distinctive characteristics, including its larger size, white coat, broader skull, and more powerful jaws.
The genetic engineering process required precise modifications to ensure these traits would express correctly without causing harmful side effects. For example, the genes responsible for the dire wolf’s white coat can cause deafness and blindness in gray wolves, so Colossal’s team engineered alternative genetic pathways to achieve the same visual result without these negative consequences.
After creating genetically modified cells, the team extracted the nuclei and inserted them into denucleated gray wolf ova. These embryos were cultured, and 45 were transferred to surrogate mothers. Three pregnancies were successful, resulting in the birth of Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi—the world’s first de-extincted dire wolves.
Lamm’s leadership at Colossal builds on his previous success as a serial entrepreneur with exits to companies including Accenture, Zynga, and LivePerson. His ability to secure substantial funding—Colossal has raised over $435 million to date—has been crucial to the company’s rapid progress in a capital-intensive field.
The dire wolf de-extinction represents just one component of Colossal’s broader mission to develop technologies that can address the accelerating biodiversity crisis. With ongoing projects focused on the woolly mammoth, the dodo bird, and the Tasmanian tiger, the company continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in genetic engineering and conservation science.