AI Platform Helps Colossal Accelerate Dodo De-Extinction
Colossal Biosciences says its new AI platform, GenoMorph, identified roughly 2,300 genetic switches that may shape the dodo's skull and beak.
- 653 candidate regulatory elements are linked to beak size.
- 1,698 more are linked to beak thickness and breadth.
- 70-plus bird species supplied genomes and skull data for the model.
- 36 Nicobar pigeons now live in the company's Texas colony.
Why it matters: Colossal has one dodo genome, compared with 100 for its woolly mammoth project. CEO Ben Lamm called de-extinction "as much a data problem as a biology problem."
- The scientists say the findings do not yet prove these switches caused the traits.
- Lamm says the approach could apply to other extinct species with limited genomic records.
How 4 sources split on this story
Where they split: Coverage divides over whether the results move the dodo close to return or only produce an untested list of genetic targets.
Left coverage, 2 sources: The left presents the work as an example of AI doing something useful, with a technical path toward dodo traits by the early 2030s.
Right coverage, 1 sources: The right presents the announcement as a major step toward resurrecting the dodo, while noting that causation is unproven.
What’s next: Colossal plans to test the candidate edits in bird embryos. It will deliver them with a new lipid nanoparticle system.
- The company plans to edit Nicobar pigeon germ cells and place them into chicken embryos as surrogates.
- Investor Peter Diamandis launched NeoGenesis Capital to fund companies using Colossal's platform.
- Will the predicted switches actually produce dodo-like beaks when edited into living birds?
- Would a pigeon carrying edited dodo traits count as a dodo?
- Can Colossal meet its estimated timeline of about five years?
