Mammoths are making a comeback — and in a big way. On your next trip to Jurassic Park, you might just spot them roaming and grazing as if they never went extinct.
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Colossal Biosciences, a Texas-based startup, has just raised another $200 million at a valuation of more than $10 billion.
The company promises to bring back extinct creatures such as the woolly mammoth, the dodo, and the Tasmanian tiger.
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The process begins by sequencing DNA extracted from the remains of frozen mammoths. Because mammoth DNA is very similar to that of the African elephant, the next step is to take African elephant DNA and edit it to match the mammoth's, using a technology called CRISPR. The modified DNA is then implanted into a female elephant's womb, with the expectation that a mammoth will be born at the end of the pregnancy.
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Critics of the process argue that it is wasteful, and that there is no way of knowing whether these creatures could survive in a climate that has changed so dramatically since they went extinct. Supporters of the project contend that the same approach could eventually be applied to humans, helping couples who are unable to conceive have children of their own.