Recently the Company Colossal Biosciences broke the internet when they announced that they had brought back the Dire wolf. The Dire wolf, before this, had been extinct for more than 10,000 years. Recently, it was made famous by the hit show Game of Thrones. But, are de-Extinction efforts worth it?

The process which Colossal Biosciences used to bring back the dire wolf involved gene editing. Basically, they found the Direwolves‘ most recents and still alive common ancestor, the grey wolf. Then they changed the genetic code of a grey wolf embryo to make it resemble a dire wolf. Ultimately the genetic code would be inserted back into a grey wolf before it would give birth. So rather than bring back the dire wolf, Colossal Biosciences created a hybrid between the two. The de-extinction of the dire wolf was a huge step towards the company’s bigger goal of bringing back the wooly mammoth.

One of the opportunities of de-Extinction is how it can help humans learn how to combat ever evolving and new bacterias and diseases. As humans develop more antibiotics, certain bacterias become more resistant to them and this has become a growing problem. However a new field of study called ancientbiotics plans on using centuries of knowledge alongside ancient and extinct remedies that were used to treat certain diseases and illnesses. In a study conducted in South America, some form of ancientbiotics did prove effective against the ESKAPE Group: a set of bacterias that are prevalent in hospitalizations and are known to build immunity towards antibiotics..

De-Extinction could help with the restoration of ecosystems through the repopulation of extinct animals. A key contributor to this idea is ReWilding Europe, their goal is to help restore ecosystems by bringing cattle or horses who have been genetically engineered to fill the roles of the extinct ancestors. A study from 2014 found that the extinction of megafauna species, such as… and other closely related species had profound effects on the surrounding environment and its structure. By bringing in animals and plants who share similar phenotypes to their extinct ancestors, they can uphold their ancestors’ task, helping the environment as a whole.

There have been De-Extinction selection guidelines that have been developed in order to help the determine which species should be chosen: species type, ecological impact and others. However, little is known about how these companies select their species. A study conducted to determine how animals are selected for de-extinction found that oftentimes animals are selected through the use of the guidelines and are often selected for the wrong reasons, such as animal charisma. Demonstrating how the biggest hazard in de-extinction may be human greed.

De-extinction has grounds for the benefit of the environment and for people’s amusement. However, due to human curiosity and high aspirations, de-extinction efforts could get out of hand. With the correct policies and regulations in place, de-extinction can profit humanity as a whole.