US company hoping to bring back the dodo and the mammoth – but here’s why it won’t be like Jurassic Park
The idea of scientists bringing pre-historic creatures back to life with some clever DNA trickery might sound familiar to fans of the 1993 Hollywood blockbuster Jurassic Park.
But for Colossal Biosciences – a company that hopes to reintroduce extinct species such as the dodo and the mammoth – it is more than just a film script.
It’s a reality – and one that could be just years away.
“We’ve got all the technology we need,” says Ben Lamm, chief executive of the firm, based in Dallas, Texas.
“It is just a focus of time and funding. But we are 100% confident [we can bring back] the Tasmanian tiger, the dodo, and the mammoth.”
The science behind the project is simple: Work out the genes that make an extinct animal what it is, and then replicate those genes using the DNA of a close existing relative.
“It’s almost reverse Jurassic Park,” says Mr Lamm, speaking to Sky News.
“In the film, they were filling in the holes in the dinosaur DNA with frog DNA.
“We are leveraging artificial intelligence and other tools to identify the core genes that make a mammoth a mammoth and then engineering them into elephant genomes.”
Ben Lamm, founder and chief executive of Colossal Biosciences. Pic: Colossal
That is the technical part.
But there are some other practical hurdles for Colossal to overcome, namely how, once you have mammoth cells, do you birth a real-life mammoth?
The answer, according to Colossal, is in the womb of an Asian elephant.
But it is a process that could take nearly two years, even after they have worked out how to do it.
“[Each of the] different projects [the mammoth, dodo, and Tasmanian tiger] have different challenges – the mammoth is really around gestation – which is around 22 months,” says Mr Lamm.
“The dodo gestation is pretty great – we are using surrogate chickens. The hardest part is cultivating the primordial germ cells.”
Colossal plans to create cells of extinct animals by genetically engineering the cells of their closest living relatives. Pic: Colossal
Pic: Colossal
‘Feeling good about 2028’
So after around 4,000 years of extinction, when could we see the return of the mighty mammoth – a creature that fell victim to human hunting and the changing conditions brought about by the end of the last Ice Age.
“We are well into the editing phase,” says Mr Lamm.
“We don’t have mammoths yet, but we still feel very good about 2028.”
Away from the lab, led by Eriona Hysolli, Colossal’s head of biological sciences, there are other issues to overcome – including where the newly returned species will live once they are born.
Eriona Hysolli, head of biological sciences at Colossal Biosciences. Pic: Colossal
Mr Lamm says the company is already working with local governments, conservation groups, indigenous people groups, private land lowers, and the public at large, to prepare for the animals to be returned to their natural habitat.
“Our ultimate goal is to put all the animals we make back into the wild,” he says.
‘New tools in the fight’ to protect nature
Colossal says the work is not just about rewilding animals previously lost to the world.
The company is currently working with Dr Paul Ling at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, to create a vaccine to eradicate the deadly EEHV virus – which kills around 20% of baby elephants each year.
It is also working closely with the University of Alaska and the University of Stockholm on radiocarbon dating of American mammoths as well as sequencing their genome – the largest study of its type ever undertaken.
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Mr Lamm also hopes that, through Colossal’s research, the company can tackle issues facing the world today, including a drop in biodiversity.
“I think we have a duty to this planet that we’ve been given – we are tending towards a loss of up to 50% biodiversity if we don’t do anything,” he says.
“Modern conservation is great, but we need new tools in the fight.
“Work on de-extinction goes hand-in-hand with species preservation, and if Colossal makes a couple of technologies, then maybe it will provide those tools.”
‘Jurassic Park helps people understand our work’
As for the Jurassic Park comparisons, well, there is one small issue, according to Mr Lamm.
In the Steven Spielberg-directed epic, the scientists use DNA embedded in fossilised mosquitoes in amber combined with frog DNA to bring dinosaurs back to life.
The scientists in Jurassic Park combined dinosaur DNA embedded in fossilised mosquitoes. Pic: PA
“Amber is not a good holder of DNA,” Mr Lamm says.
“But it’s a very entertaining movie and I think Jurassic Park made a lot of people interested in science. I saw it when I was younger and I was like: ‘Wow genetics is cool’.
“It did a lot to explain to the masses that genetic engineering is a thing and something that can be used in powerful ways, and I do think more people understand Colossal because of that.”
The company is also working on a film of its own, and, luckily for everyone, it’s not a dystopian thriller like Jurassic Park.
It has teamed up with award-winning director James Reed, a specialist in nature films, to document its “de-extinction” work.
“It’s really exciting. When you are doing anything bold, it is important to communicate and be transparent, and there’s nothing more transparent than having cameras around all the time,” says Mr Lamm.
An end to the longest US government shutdown in history is one step closer after Senate Democrats broke with their party to strike a deal with the Republicans.
Senators backed by 60 votes to 40 legislation to end the impasse, though it still needs approval from the House of Representatives – and sign-off by President Donald Trump.
He has indicated he is happy with the agreement, though, which would restore funding for federal agencies that have gone without since 1 October.
It would also prevent any further layoffs until 30 January, but does not satisfy Democrat demands regarding health care insurance for millions of Americans.
Attractions across the US have been closed. Pic: AP
Health care was at the heart of the dispute that led to the shutdown.
The Democrats had refused to support a Republican budget plan unless tax credits that made medical insurance cheaper for millions of people were renewed.
The willingness of eight moderate Democrats to break the Senate deadlock without that guarantee has provoked fury among many in the party.
Some are now calling on Senate Minority Chuck Schumer to be replaced because he is “no longer effective”.
California Governor Gavin Newsom – regarded as a contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination – said: “Pathetic. This isn’t a deal. It’s surrender.”
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The shutdown has caused extensive travel disruption. Pic: Reuters
On Monday morning, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune had urged politicians to work together to break a stalemate that had lasted for more than 40 days.
He said: “The American people have suffered for long enough. Let’s not pointlessly drag this bill out.”
The shutdown began on 1 October – with 670,000 federal government employees furloughed or left with no choice but to work without pay.
SNAP, a food aid programme used by 42 million Americans, has been frozen – with thousands of flights cancelled at dozens of major airports.
Mr Trump has told air traffic controllers to get back to work, threatening anyone who doesn’t with “docked” pay.
The funding package now heading to the House of Representatives only lasts through to 30 January, making it a relatively short-term solution that will require further negotiation.
Donald Trump has threatened to sue the BBC for $1bn over edits the organisation made last year to one of his speeches.
The organisation has been engulfed in a crisis, forced to apologise on Monday after two of its most senior figures, including the director-general, resigned on Sunday night.
The defamation claim centres around a BBC Panorama documentary, which aired October 2024 and showed an edited speech made by Mr Trump before the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, in which he appeared to tell his supporters he was going to walk with them to the US Capitol and “fight like hell”.
In a letter dated 9 November, Florida-based lawyer Alejandro Brito set the BBC a deadline of 10pm UK time on Friday to respond, outlining three demands:
• Issue a “full and fair retraction” of the documentary
• Apologise immediately
• “Appropriately compensate” the US president
He told the BBC it needed to “comply” or face being sued for $1bn.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We will review the letter and respond directly in due course.”
‘Error of judgement’
On Monday, BBC chairman Samir Shah, one of the most senior figures still standing, apologised for the “error of judgement” in editing the video.
In a letter to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee of MPs, Mr Shah said Mr Trump’s speech was edited in a way that gave “the impression of a direct call for violent action”.
“The BBC would like to apologise for that error of judgement,” he added.
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BBC admits Trump documentary ‘mistake’
Director-general and head of BBC News resign
Concerns about the edited speech first came to light in a leaked memo from Michael Prescott, a former journalist and independent adviser to the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Board.
As a result, BBC director-general Tim Davie and BBC News chief Deborah Turness announced their resignations on Sunday evening, saying in emails to staff that mistakes had been made.
Mr Davie will address an all-staff meeting on Tuesday. While on her way into the Broadcasting House on Monday morning, Ms Turness defended the corporation, rejecting accusations of institutional bias.
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Trump’s claims of ‘corrupt’ BBC journalists rejected
Downing St stands by BBC – but chancellor says ‘lessons to be learned’
A spokesperson for the prime minister told reporters on Monday that the BBC wasn’t corrupt or institutionally biased.
Instead, they said it had a “vital role” to play in the modern age, but needed to ensure it acted “to maintain trust and correct mistakes quickly when they occur”.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves also stood by the corporation, but said that “lessons do need to be learned”.
‘Nothing but an apology’
Veteran broadcaster and former BBC presenter Jonathan Dimbleby told Sky News, however, that the organisation owed the US president nothing more than an apology.
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‘These are very serious times for the BBC’
But former legal correspondent for the BBC Joshua Rozenberg also told Sky News that he believed the corporation would “very likely” consider settling with Trump.
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BBC ‘very likely to consider settling with Trump best thing to do’
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Mr Trump’s attack on the BBC is the latest in a long string of multibillion-dollar battles he’s engaged with various media institutions.
Former al Qaeda commander and now Syrian leader Ahmed al Sharaa has been welcomed by Donald Trump to the White House.
It was the first visit to the Oval Office by a Syrian head of state since the country gained independence in 1946.
Mr Sharaa, 43, who once had a $10m US bounty on his head, led rebel forces that overthrew dictator Bashar al-Assad last December, and was named interim leader in January.
The US president called Mr al Sharaa a “very strong leader” after their meeting and suggested the US would work to help the country succeed.
“He comes from a very tough place,” Mr Trump said, adding Mr al Sharaa is a “tough guy” and “I like him”.
Mr Sharra has “had a rough past”, but added, “we’ve all had a rough past”, he added.
Trump shared a picture of the two leaders on social media. Pic: Truth Social
Mr Trump has become one of the Syrian president’s more enthusiastic backers, considering the nation of strategic importance.
He didn’t provide any policy details about the meeting, but said “we’ll do everything we can to make Syria successful because that’s part of the Middle East”.
Read more: Why this meeting is a big deal
Trump and al Sharaa appeared to get on well. Pics: AP
‘What the hell are we doing?’
Mr al Sharaa was greeted by a cheering crowd of supporters, some waving Syrian flags, upon his arrival on Monday.
But not everyone was overjoyed at the historic meeting.
Far-right activist Laura Loomer, a self-proclaimed “Islamophobe” who wields influence in Mr Trump’s MAGA movement, posted on X that Mr al Sharaa was “the ISIS ‘President’ of Syria”.
“What the hell are we doing?” she wrote of his White House visit.
Days before the meeting, Mr Trump told reporters “a lot of progress has been made” on Syria and Mr al Sharaa was “doing a very good job”.
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al Sharaa waves as he greets supporters outside the White House. Pics: AP
Last week, the US voted to lift a series of sanctions on the Syrian president and members of his government.
Mr al Sharaa is hoping for a permanent repeal of sanctions placed on Syria for allegations of human rights abuses by Assad’s government and security forces – but congressional action would be needed for a permanent repeal.
Mr Trump and Mr al Sharaa first met in May in Saudi Arabia. At the time, the US president described Mr al Sharaa as a “young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past, very strong past. Fighter”.
Monday’s meeting came after Syria launched raids against Islamic State cells.
It was the first official encounter between the US and Syria since 2000, when then president Bill Clinton met Hafez Assad.
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