Colossal targets the dodo

Since founding in two thousand twenty-one, Colossal Laboratories and Biosciences has sought to bring back extinct animals, including the dodo, the iconic flightless bird once endemic to Mauritius.

The dodo's extinction

The dodo was documented by humans when the Portuguese first arrived on Mauritius in the sixteenth century but hasn't been seen in hundreds of years. It struggled to survive invasive species and human hunting.

A three-foot columbid

The dodo was a three-foot-tall member of the Columbidae family, which includes modern pigeons and doves. The phrase went the way of the dodo comes from its extinction.

Colossal's resurrection strategy

Colossal edits genomes of living species with preserved DNA from extinct species they want to regenerate. The company already claims to have resurrected the dire wolf.

The dodo challenge

The dodo is especially difficult because Colossal only has access to one dodo genomic sample and must apply its technology to a species gestated in an egg, not via surrogate.

GenoMorph identifies dodo traits

Colossal announced on Wednesday it built GenoMorph, an AI tool trained on DNA from other species. It identifies which genome sections are likely associated with traits like a beak or feather.

Two thousand three hundred targets

Using GenoMorph, scientists identified which regions of available dodo DNA are responsible for dodo traits. They've narrowed the list down to two thousand three hundred DNA targets.

Egg-based genetic editing

For the first time, Colossal has used lipid nanoparticles to conduct genomic editing within an egg, advancing its ability to work with egg-gestated species like the dodo.

Building a functional dodo

Colossal is not replicating the original dodo genetically but building a functional dodo. It fills a living pigeon's genetic sequence with dodo DNA selections associated with specific dodo traits like its iconic beak.

Scientists question the definition

Some scientists have strongly objected to Colossal's framing of its work, questioning whether a hybrid creation constitutes actually bringing back the dodo or redefines what a species is.

Species definitions are arbitrary

Colossal's chief science officer Beth Shapiro counters that the distinction between species is fuzzier than assumed. She says species definition is based on an arbitrary threshold of sequence similarity.

“It's a species definition that's based on an arbitrary threshold of sequence similarity. But that threshold is arbitrary. It's going to be arbitrary no matter who you are.”

Colossal's other targets

Beyond the dodo, Colossal is pursuing quests to bring back the woolly mammoth, the thylacine or Tasmanian tiger, and the giant Moa, a flightless bird from New Zealand that stood up to twelve feet tall.