It was once thought to be a creature of fantasy, made famous by Game of Thrones, but now the legendary dire wolf has returned—sort of. Scientists at Texas-based biotech company Colossal Biosciences claim to have successfully revived the extinct predator through cutting-edge gene editing, producing three live wolf pups that carry dire wolf DNA for the first time in over 12,000 years.
The landmark achievement marks the world's first successful instance of de-extinction, according to The New York Times. Although the animals are not exact replicas of the ancient species, they carry 20 key dire wolf genes, including those influencing size, coat colour, and build.
