Giant, flightless bird is next target for de-extinction company Colossal Biosciences
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
The Dire Wolf Company’s Next Target? A Giant Flightless Bird
In April, biotech company Colossal Biosciences announced that it had successfully brought back the dire wolf, an animal whose howl had not been heard on Earth since the last member of the species vanished more than 10,000 years ago. Colossal also wants to bring back the dodo, the woolly mammoth, the Tasmanian tiger—or thylacine—and more. The goal is both to increase genetic diversity and to hone genetic editing techniques to fortify existing but threatened species. The emu-like moa, a giant flightless bird that stood up to 12 ft. (3.6 m) tall, tipped the scales at more than 500 lbs (230 kg), once ranged across New Zealand, before it was hunted to extinction by humans about 600 years ago, says Colossal. The company is not stopping there. It is also working with the Ngāi Tahu Research Center, a group that was founded in 2011 to foster intellectual development and conduct scientific studies for and by the Indigenous Māori people.
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No-go on the jet packs and the flying cars. But the business of de-extinction? That’s very much happening. In April, the Dallas-based biotech company Colossal Biosciences announced that it had successfully brought back the dire wolf, an animal whose howl had not been heard on Earth since the last member of the species vanished more than 10,000 years ago. Three young dire wolves currently live on a 2,000-acre preserve in an undisclosed location to protect them from the media and curiosity-seekers, and Colossal aims to produce more of the animals, with the ultimate goal of perhaps rewilding the species. Read more: The Return of the Dire Wolf
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The company is not stopping there. Colossal also wants to bring back the dodo, the woolly mammoth, the Tasmanian tiger—or thylacine—and more. The goal is both to increase genetic diversity and to hone genetic editing techniques to fortify existing but threatened species. Now, Colossal has announced one more species to add to its growing menagerie: the emu-like moa, a giant flightless bird that stood up to 12 ft. (3.6 m) tall, tipped the scales at more than 500 lbs (230 kg), and once ranged across New Zealand, before it was hunted to extinction by humans about 600 years ago. Like the moa, Jackson is a native New Zealander; “I am a very proud kiwi,” he says. He is also a Colossal investor and acted as intermediary and facilitator bringing the company into partnership on the moa project with the Ngāi Tahu Research Center, a group that was founded in 2011 to foster intellectual development and conduct scientific studies for and by the Ngāi Tahu tribe of the Indigenous Māori people.
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“Some of those iconic species that feature in our tribal mythology, our storytelling, are very near and dear to us,” says Ngāi Tahu archaeologist Kyle Davis, who is working on the moa de-extinction project. “Participation in scientific research, species management, and conservation has been a large part of our activities.” “This is completely a Māori initiative,” adds Ben Lamm, CEO and co-founder of Colossal. “We feel like the Colossal team is an extension of the research center and the Māori.” Bringing back the moa would have implications not only for the species itself but for the environment it once inhabited and could again. The bird was what is known as a cornerstone species, one whose grazing and browsing helped prune and shape the jungle flora. Moas were also prolific dispersers of seeds from the plants they ate. The loss of the species not only eliminated that forest-restoring function, but also led to the related extinction of the Haast’s eagle, which relied almost exclusively on the moa as prey. Restoring the moa would not bring the eagle back but could help at least partly restore the primal New Zealand woodlands.
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Bringing back the moa is of a piece with Colossal’s other work, which seeks not only to restore vanished species, but to prevent related ones from slipping over the event horizon of extinction. Genetic engineering mastered in the dire wolf project, for example, is being used to edit greater diversity into the genome of the endangered red wolf. Knowledge gained in the effort to bring back the thylacine could similarly help preserve the related northern quoll. “There are some species of birds on the South Island of New Zealand that are endangered due to the fact that they have reduced gene pools,” says Paul Scofield, senior curator of natural history at Canterbury Museum, author of 20 papers on the moa genome, and one of the scientists working on the de-extinction project. “Some of the technology that Colossal is working with is very applicable to them.” Read more: Scientists Have Bred Woolly Mice on Their Journey to Bring Back the Mammoth
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That technology is decidedly challenging. De-extincting the dire wolf involved sequencing ancient DNA collected from fossil specimens and then rewriting the genome of cells from a gray wolf to resemble the extinct species with the lost ancient genes. The edited nucleus was then inserted into a domestic dog ovum whose own nucleus had been removed. That ovum was allowed to develop into an embryo in the lab and then implanted into the womb of a surrogate domestic dog, which carried the dire wolf pup to term.” Bringing back the extinct moa is harder since the incubating will be done outside the body, inside an egg. The first step in this work once again calls for sequencing the genome of the extinct target species and once again turning to a closely related living species—either the tinamou or the emu—for help. Colossal scientists will extract primordial germ cells—or cells that develop into egg and sperm—from a tinamou or emu embryo and rewrite their genome to match key features of the moa. Those edited cells will then be introduced into another embryonic tinamou or emu inside an egg. If all goes to plan, the cells will travel to the embryo’s gonads, transforming them so that the females produce eggs and the males produce sperm not of the host species but of the moa. The result will be an emu or tinamou that hatches, grows up, mates, and produces eggs containing moa chicks.
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“We’ve had some pretty big successes so far,” says Lamm. “We have a breeding colony of tinamous but not emus, but have access to emu eggs through the many breeders out there.” None of this means that the work is remotely done. Lamm concedes it could be up to ten years before a moa once again walks New Zealand—though it could come sooner. “I’d rather underpromise and overdeliver,” he says. For now, Colossal and the Ngāi Tahu Research Center are still working to sequence the moa genome, and to do that they have to get their hands on more DNA samples. Museum specimens of moa remains satisfy some of that demand, but DNA degrades significantly over the centuries and what can’t be harvested from private collections has to be dug up in field excavations—with a special eye to long, DNA-rich moa bones like the femur and tibia. “There are a couple of really significant fossil sites, particularly one in North Canterbury, about an hour north of Christchurch,” says Scofield. “So far we’ve sampled more than 60 individuals.” If those don’t prove sufficient, he adds, “we will have to go out and dig some more holes.”
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None of this comes cheap, and while Lamm does not disclose the exact funding for the moa de-extinction project, he does say it is an eight-figure sum. “I saw the new Jurassic World movie and someone in it says it costs $72 million to bring back one animal,” he says. “I was like, ‘That’s probably accurate.’”
That up-front expenditure could pay off handsomely down the line, boosting ecotourism to New Zealand and benefiting Colossal’s basic research, which is already showing for-profit potential. So far, Colossal has spun off two new companies: One, called Breaking, uses engineered microbes and enzymes to break down plastic waste. The other, Form Bio, provides AI and computational biology platforms for drug development.
But it’s the intangibles—the wonder of midwifing a long-extinct species back to the global family of extant ones—that is Colossal’s and the Māori’s most transcendent work. “This has an excitement value to it that movies don’t have,” says Jackson. “When I see a living moa for the first time I’m going to be absolutely amazed beyond anything I’ve ever felt.”
OPINION – The phone case which looks and burns like human skin – but why do we need it? …Tech & Science Daily podcast
The eruption of an Indonesian volcano has left locals finding ‘breathing painful’ O2 have created a first-of-its-kind phone designed to highlight the sun’s harmful UV rays on human skin. Peter Jackson is resurrecting a giant extinct bird from 600 years ago.
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O2, with backing from The British Skin Foundation, have created a first-of-its-kind phone ‘Skincase’, designed to highlight the sun’s harmful UV rays on human skin.
We join researcher and creative technologist Marc Teyssier, who has previously designed artificial skin for robots.
The eruption of an Indonesian volcano has left locals finding ‘breathing painful’.
Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupted twice on Monday, sending extremely hot ash and rock debris up into the air, around 11 miles high.
LOTR’s Peter Jackson is resurrecting a giant extinct bird from 600 years ago.
He’s teamed up with Colossal Biosciences, which worked on the genetic rebuilding of species such as the woolly mammoth and dire wolf.
Also in this episode:
-Barbie has launched its first doll with type 1 diabetes.
-Live facial recognition technology could be used to catch London Underground fare dodgers.
-And finally, Sid the sloth’s Ice Age migration was actually unusual…
Crayweed forests are returning to Sydney’s coastline
Crayweed, a large, golden-brown seaweed, is found along Australia’s southeastern coast. It disappeared from a 70-kilometer stretch around the 1980s, when sewage was being discharged into the sea. Operation Crayweed aims to restore 60 hectares of forest in shallow rocky reef habitats. Underwater forests capture carbon, create shelter for marine species and serve as a nursery for creatures like abalone and rock lobsters. The restored forests cover over two hectares, and microscopic animals are already returning, says Dr. Adriana Vergés of the University of New South Wales Sydney, and co-founder of Operation Craysweed. The team is using advanced techniques to help it survive in a world where climate change is making oceans more extreme, and environmental conditions more extreme as well as planting it on biodegradable mats to grow new forests. The group is also testing whether its genetics or its microbes play a greater role in helping it survive rising ocean temperatures in Western Australia, such as a heatwave.
Sydney, Australia CNN —
Crayweed, a large, golden-brown seaweed, found along Australia’s southeastern coast, plays a crucial role in ocean health. Its underwater forests capture carbon, create shelter for marine species and serve as a nursery for creatures like abalone and rock lobsters.
Once widespread along Sydney’s coastline, it disappeared from a 70-kilometer stretch around the 1980s, at a time when sewage was being discharged into the sea, according to Operation Crayweed. The conservation initiative, primarily run by scientists from universities and research institutes, aims to restore 60 hectares of forest in shallow rocky reef habitats.
“We’re not just bringing back one species, we’re building an entire ecosystem,” says Dr. Adriana Vergés, a professor of marine ecology at the University of New South Wales Sydney, and co-founder of Operation Crayweed.
Crayweed is attached to biodegradable mats to grow new forests. Tom Burd
Improvements in sewage disposal mean the water around Sydney has become clean enough to support crayweed, according to the group, but for it to make a return, it must first be planted and then successfully reproduce.
At designated restoration sites, scientists and volunteers attach healthy male and female crayweed collected from wild populations onto biodegradable mats fixed to reefs.
Crayweed reproduces when male plants release sperm into the water, which fertilizes eggs from the female plant. These fertilized eggs grow into young crayweed, known as “craybies,” which anchor to the seafloor and grow into new forests.
Once established, the mats are removed, and the forest continues to grow and spread on its own.
Since Operation Crayweed began over a decade ago, it has targeted 16 sites along Sydney’s reefs, seven of which now have established self-sustaining crayweed populations. The restored forests cover over two hectares, and microscopic animals are already returning, according to Vergés.
Three new sites, Lurline Bay, Dee Why, and South Maroubra, were added in 2024. Dee Why alone jumped from just 10 crayweed plants to 466 juvenile crayweed in a single year and by early 2025, more than 1,500 craybies had established themselves at South Maroubra, according to Operation Crayweed.
“I get a real kick out of seeing it. And now it’s expanded so much that you can see it even without getting in the water,” says Vergés. “When the tide is low, you can see the crayweed swaying as the water pulls away from the coast.”
Mat drilling in South Maroubra. Claudia Santori
The team plans to restore 10 more sites in the next two and a half years.
Dr. Prue Francis, a senior lecturer in marine science at Deakin University, who isn’t part of Operation Crayweed, says the project can have a wider impact in the area.
“People often focus on the dramatic bleaching of coral reefs, but with kelp forests, the decline is quieter, until it’s too late. These underwater forests are supporting a whole ecosystem. When they’re gone, like in parts of Sydney where crayweed has vanished, nothing grows back,” she told CNN.
“Restoration efforts like Operation Crayweed aren’t just about bringing back seaweed, they’re about saving an entire web of life that depends on it,” she added.
Science’s new frontier
As well as planting crayweed, the team is using advanced techniques to help it survive in a world where climate change is making oceans warmer, and environmental conditions more extreme.
It has successfully mixed genetic populations sourced from north and south of Sydney, which enables the restored populations to reflect the natural genetic diversity and structure of healthy existing populations — “an important innovation,” says Vergés — and is testing whether crayweed genetics or its microbes (tiny living organisms that live on its surface) play a greater role in helping it survive rising ocean temperatures.
The team is also looking to build up a “biobank” of crayweed populations as a contingency in case they are wiped out by a heatwave.
“In Western Australia, such a marine heatwave erased entire crayweed populations. To prevent similar losses, we are turning to cryopreservation,” says Vergés. “We collect the sperm and eggs from different populations and freeze them at ultra-low temperatures.”
Crayweed harvested and ready for planting. Chanelle Webster
While other kelp species have been cryopreserved in research labs around the world, no one had successfully applied the method to crayweed, says Catalina Musrri Fuenzalida, who is working on freezing efforts as part of her PhD at the University of Sydney.
“We don’t have any genotypes or biobanks for these species,” she explained. “So, if we lose a population, it’s gone forever.”
Beyond the technical challenge, the work has a deeper meaning for Musrri Fuenzalida: “Sometimes, as a young scientist, it’s hard not to feel hopeless. But this feels like something real, something that can make a difference,” she says. “It gives you hope.”
The efforts of Operation Crayweed are part of wider global efforts to recover lost kelp habitat. The Kelp Forest Challenge aims to restore four million hectares of kelp globally by 2040.
For Vergés, the success of the project is both scientific and personal. “I swim in the ocean on weekends, and everywhere I go now, I see crayweed again,” she says. “It was gone, and it never would’ve come back by itself.”
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the name of Catalina Musrri Fuenzalida.
Woman says witnesses recorded video of rape on Coney Island beach instead of helping
Melasia Harris says she was raped on a Coney Island beach over the Fourth of July weekend. She says onlookers recorded videos instead of stopping to help. CBS News New York does not generally identify sexual assault survivors, but Harris gave permission in hopes it leads to the suspect being caught. If you or anyone you know is a victim of sexual assault and needs help, you can call the nonprofit RAinN at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). RAINN has a 24/7 confidential hotline and resources online. For confidential support on suicide matters call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details.
Click here for updates on this story
New York (WCBS, WLNY) — A woman says she was raped on a Coney Island beach over the Fourth of July weekend and onlookers recorded videos instead of stopping to help.
CBS News New York does not generally identify sexual assault survivors, but Melasia Harris gave permission in hopes it leads to the suspect being caught.
“Nobody helped. Nobody stopped.”
Harris said she headed to the boardwalk and beach late Friday night.
“I got off of the bus at 11 p.m., missed the fireworks,” she said. “At this point, I’m making the most of my night.”
Harris said as she was walking away from the water near Stillwell Avenue around 3 a.m. Saturday, a man was coming toward her.
“He gave me bad vibes. I really looked at him. He had a scar on his lip,” she said. “I tried to run away, and I fell three times.”
Harris said she tripped on a mat and fell.
“I just literally remember being right there ’cause I just remember it was in the middle of everything,” she said.
The man then forced oral sex on her, Harris said.
“He saw that I was on the floor and that’s when he put his face between my legs, and I started screaming and everyone started laughing and recording me. Nobody helped. Nobody stopped,” she said.
She added, “I swear he had a bookbag, and that’s what made my heart beat because I’m from Brooklyn. Like, a man with a bookbag and you don’t know what’s inside?”
Harris said at one point, a golf cart shined a light on them but then drove off.
“I was just terrified, and I couldn’t fight back”
When she walked away to leave, she says the man followed her down Stillwell Avenue and raped her.
“He bent me over over here, and he raped me,” she said. “My face hit the bushes. I couldn’t do anything, so I was just like, I was just really scared and then I was like screaming for help.”
Law enforcement sources confirm there was a report of a rape at Coney Island on Saturday.
Harris said there were witnesses to both attacks and she is asking them to come forward.
“I was just terrified, and I couldn’t fight back,” she said.
She said the suspect needs to be arrested and has shared her story on social media.
She says she’s in contact with the NYPD’s special victims unit and hopes sharing her story will help bring them more clues to catch the suspect.
If you or anyone you know is a victim of sexual assault and needs help, you can call the nonprofit RAINN at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). RAINN has a 24/7 confidential hotline and resources online.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
Dog recovering at animal hospital after being found with severe injuries
A pit bull mix was found tied up against a fence in Hollywood, Florida. The dog, named Teddy Bear, is believed to be around a year old. Doctors said Teddy Bear has a long road to recovery, but after his immediate injuries are treated, they will be looking for a medical foster who would help him continue his recovery until they can find a permanent home for him. If you’re interested in donating to help cover the expenses for his treatment such as laser therapy and recovery, you can donate to iHeart Animal Rescue here.Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. Ifyou share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
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DEERFIELD BEACH, Florida (WSVN) — A dog is recovering at an animal hospital after being found suffering from severe injuries by a Hollywood resident.
Maribel Diaz, who lives in the area, said she spotted the dog tied up against a fence in the Driftwood neighborhood in Hollywood on Sunday.
“I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that that poor animal was left right there just to die,” said Diaz.
iHeart Animal Rescue stepped in to help bring the pit bull mix to Deer Run Animal Hospital in Deerfield Beach.
“I know that he’s probably been through a lot. He was found outside, likely he’s been in the sun for quite a bit of time, he’s also pretty malnourished,” said doctor Sarah Gangadin.
On top of what vets said may be a skin disease, they’re taking a closer look at his hind legs on what appears to be possible bite marks where the dog has heavy swelling.
“We don’t know if he was used as a bait dog, so we are pretty concerned with that and we are trying to treat him for all of the possibilities,” said Gangadin.
The dog, who staff have now named Teddy Bear, is believed to be around a year old.
iHeart Animal Rescue said they can’t imagine what Teddy Bear has gone through and that they’ve filed a police report as a precaution.
“This dog had to be tied up somewhere where he couldn’t get away from the sun burning him and, you know, being in a situation where he got the bite marks on his legs and just a puppy, I mean, this is, a dog shouldn’t look like this at 10 months old,” said Cindy Mucciaccio.
Despite the severity of his injuries, doctors said Teddy Bear has been very affectionate and kind.
“Even if the owner hits them or hurts them, they’re still wagging their tail and happy when the owner comes home and that’s the same with him. He’s still happy and he just wants the attention and he just wants to kiss you,” said Gangadin. “He’s been such a loving and kind dog. He’s super warm and loving to everybody.”
Doctors at the animal hospital said Teddy Bear has a long road to recovery, but after his immediate injuries are treated, they will be looking for a medical foster who would help him continue his recovery until they can find a permanent home for him.
If you’re interested in donating to help cover the expenses for his treatment such as laser therapy and recovery, you can donate to iHeart Animal Rescue here.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.