So you've probably heard by now that a biotech company called Colossal Biosciences has brought dire wolves back form extinction. Or at least.... they SAY they did. We wanted to break down all the science in their claims, and get to the bottom of the dire wolf dilemma before George R. R. Martin adopts all the wolf pups. Here's the truth on de-extinction, de-mystified.I'm glad to see Rancho La Brea make an appearance. I spent four years there working on my M.S. thesis in geology, where "I was the first person to identify 33 species from the most famous fossil deposit in North America." I also walked past the wall of dire wolf skulls and a copy of the mural shown in the video on a regular basis. I'm quite familiar with a paleontological perspective on the species. I'm also aware that using a gray wolf as a template has issues; dire wolves are genetically closer to the common ancestor of most jackals than wolves. Finally, Colossal Biosciences' dire wolves don't fit any of the three species concepts for real dire wolves. Darn.
Hosted by: Savannah Geary (they/them)
I continue with Be Smart's The Argument for De-Extinction: EXPLAINED.
Dire wolves are back-sort of. Colossal Biosciences seems to have resurrected this extinct predator, but it's not quite as simple as that. Joe talks with their scientists to explore the truth, tech, and ethics of "de-extinction."The scientists from Colossal Biosciences that Joe Hanson interviewed both gave intelligent, well-reasoned answers that make me think and feel that they know what they are doing and understand its place in preserving biodiversity. I just hope people are listening.
SciShow's video mentioned that Hank Green had made two videos about dire wolf de-extinction. He's since made a third, Everyone Ignored Colossal’s Bigger Wolf News.
What if there is an actual de-extinction hiding just under the surface.One question that came up in all three videos is "What is a species?" That has to be answered first to say whether Colossal Biosciences actually revived dire wolves and if not, what are they? I didn't expect that debate last month, but here we are. Also, I agree with Hank that the real de-extinction story will be the red wolf.
I leave this topic with TierZoo asking Are Dire Wolves going to become OP again?
Did modders at Colossal Biosciences just break the game?Patrick Lacey finally wrote a description I can use!
Before I leave, other viewers and I responded to Lacey's "Stark white coat" remark. Here are my comments.
"I spent five minutes scrolling through the comments to see if someone else had noticed this. Congratulations, you did, so we can both say, 'We see what you did there.'"
"Yes, he did, so we can say, 'We see what you did there.' These are Game of Thrones dire wolves and George R.R. Martin is one of the authors on Colossal Biosciences paper."
"Until this development, I had never noticed that Game of Thrones has GMO in the correct order — GaMe Of Thrones!"
Enough silliness in the service of science and entertainment. Stay tuned for Flashback Friday.
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