🐺 The Dire Wolf Return Could Spell Salvation for Species on the Brink

I remember when I first head about CRISPR, one of the technologies Colossal Biosciences used to bring the dire wolf back from extinction in our feature story. It was in a 2015 episode of the Radiolab podcast on NPR called “Antibodies,” and the host talked about how the age-old technique used by bacteria to defend against viruses was a game changer — really the stuff of science fiction. Even in the liner notes from a decade ago, it said, “Scientists say they’ll someday be able to use CRISPR to fight cancer and maybe even bring animals back from the dead.”

And now here we are, mere weeks after sharing the news from South by Southwest that Colossal had used woolly mammoth DNA to create woolly mice, talking about bringing back an American wolf species straight out of Game of Thrones! Never mind the lessons we were supposedly taught by Jurassic Park about reviving extinct species; I say bring on the dodo!

— Michael Ahr, Newsletter Editor

IN THIS ISSUE

• Our exclusive interview with Ben Lamm, CEO of Colossal Biosciences 🧪

• Analysis of the box office success of A Minecraft Movie 💎

• A look at Wes Anderson’s upcoming film, The Phoenician Scheme 🎥

• …and more!