De-extinction of species: Fact or myth?
Keywords:
De-extinction, genetic modification, woolly mammothAbstract
You may have heard about the de-extinction of the dire wolf, a wolf that existed more than 10,000 years ago, of which the company called “Colossal Laboratories and Biosciences” presented three specimens in the spring of 2025. But do you think science has really advanced to the point of de-extinguishing species? In this article, we provide some elements to help you discern whether the dire wolf has been de-extinguished, and reflections on the ethical and ecological validity of these achievements.
References
Colossal Laboratories and Biosciences. (s/f). De-Extinction. Disponibles desde: https://colossal.com/de-extinction/. Consultado: 1 de noviembre, 2025
Turner, S. D., Keyte, A., Pask, A., & Shapiro, B. (2025). De-extinction technology and its application to conservation. Journal of Heredity, esaf069. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esaf069
CetaceaLab. (2022, enero 26). Conoce la planta extinta Palma Dactilera de Judea. Disponible desde: https://www.cetacealab.org/conoce-la-planta-extinta-palma-dactilera-de-judea/. Consultado: 1 de noviembre, 2025
Levy, S. (2012, febrero 23). Wild flower blooms again after 30,000 years on ice. Nature, 482, 454.
Yashina, S., Gubin, S., Maksimovich, S., Yashina, A., Gakhova, E., & Gilichinsky, D. (2012). Regeneration of whole fertile plants from 30,000-y-old fruit tissue buried in Siberian permafrost. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(10), 4008–4013. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1118386109
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