“There are things known and there are things unknown and in between are the doors of perception.” — Aldous Huxley

I’m Huxley Westemeier (26’) and welcome to “The Sift,” a weekly opinions column focused on the impacts and implications of new technologies.

______________________________________________________

“Life Finds a Way”

The famous line, spoken by Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm in “Jurassic Park,” is relevant now more than ever. On Apr 7, biotech company Colossal Biosciences revealed that they had successfully genetically engineered dire wolves, a species last seen over 10,000 years ago. According to “US News,” three pups named Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi are now living in a private facility and have reportedly reached 80 pounds each.

All of this raises the question: what’s next?

In a surprising move ripped straight from “Jurassic Park,” Colossal is taking their research one step further. According to “MIT Technology Review,” the startup is seeking a patent in the United States that would “give it exclusive legal rights to create and sell gene-edited elephants containing ancient mammoth DNA”. They also plan to patent more creations, including the dire wolves and even the dodo bird, trademarking the name “Mammouse” earlier in 2025 for use in plush toys.

Before I cue the John Williams Jurassic theme, I’d like to pause and ask: what exactly are we “resurrecting”?

The dire wolves, in particular, are not clones as some media sources (and social media!) would like you to believe. Instead, they are gray wolves modified with DNA modeled after ancient wolves. Sure, they have the distinctive white fur and are larger than gray wolves, but the “dire wolves” are about as close to the real deal as a domesticated dog is to their wolf ancestor. Plenty of backlash from the scientific community has led Colossal to be more upfront about their achievement, as evident by the patent application that directly refers to the mammoths as “gene-edited elephants.”

After reading about Colossal’s achievements, questions immediately came to mind. How do we guarantee the welfare of these animals? Who controls them? Additionally, if a bioengineered dodo is copyrighted and therefore owned by a company, can it truly be a part of a natural ecosystem? What impact will it have on a modern ecosystem? While it’s true that humans were at least partially responsible for the extinction of the woolly mammoth and the dodo bird, applying gene-editing technologies to “play God” feels unethical. Colossal could easily become a monopoly on privatized conservation. Their technology has the potential to expand into humans within the coming decades, being used to cure hereditary diseases or, perhaps, even give a child specific characteristics. If the U.S. allows Colossal to patent the Mammoth’s DNA, it opens a realm of alarming scenarios. Is there a future where a monopoly corporation owns a gene that minimizes a person’s cancer predisposition?

To anyone who finds this technology thrilling and without pitfalls, I encourage you to rewatch the Jurassic films.

The dinosaurs either prevail or (at least) destroy an island or two. The biotech company? It never lasts long.