"Death and taxes are supposed to be the things we can depend on in this life. But in 2025, the American entrepreneur Ben Lamm sold much of the world on the idea that death did not, after all, need to be for ever. This was the year the billionaire's genetics startup, Colossal Biosciences, claimed it had resurrected the dire wolf, an animal that disappeared at the end of the last ice age, by tweaking the DNA of grey wolves."
"According to the company, it had also edged closer to bringing the woolly mammoth back from the dead, with the creation of genetically engineered woolly mice. In a flurry of high-profile announcements and press releases, it launched projects to revive the Tasmanian tiger (also known as the thylacine), the dodo and the moa, a 3-metre tall bird that has been extinct for 600 years."
Ben Lamm led Colossal Biosciences in high-profile de-extinction efforts in 2025, combining genetic editing with aggressive publicity. The company reported recreating dire wolf traits by editing grey wolf DNA and produced genetically engineered 'woolly mice' as a step toward cold-tolerant elephants for mammoth revival. Colossal announced projects targeting the Tasmanian tiger, the dodo and the moa. Lamm applied Silicon Valley showmanship to conservation and monetized public excitement through bold claims and media stunts. Public reactions included viral headlines, enthusiastic profiles, and widespread fascination with recorded dire wolf howls and engineered animal demonstrations.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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