The company Colossal Biosciences achieved an unprecedented breakthrough in biotechnology: it revived three gray wolf pups with genetic traits of the extinct dire wolf, popularly known as "huargo" thanks to Game of Thrones.
The animals, born in 2025, were named Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi.They exhibited light fur, large size, and other physical characteristics similar to their prehistoric ancestors.
The return of the dire wolves
The dire wolf went extinct about 13,000 years ago. However, thanks to genetic material recovered from fossils found in Ohio and Idaho, Colossal edited 20 genes in gray wolf cells to bring them genetically closer to this extinct species.
Rómulo y Remo, los lobos nacidos gracias a la edición genética, con características similares a "Huargo" de Games of Thrones.
Technology to revive the extinct
From modified blood cells, scientists created embryos that were then implanted in surrogate mothers. Although several embryos failed, three pups were born healthy. One additional pup died from natural causes unrelated to the mutations.
Dr. Beth Shapiro,Colossal's lead scientist, demonstrated this achievement as the first successful case of de-extinction. She noted that the goal wasn't an exact replica, but to create "functional copies" with the most representative traits.
This approach, which combines genetic editing and cloning, could be applied in the future to conserve endangered species, like the red wolf.
Although Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi won't be released into the wild, their existence demonstrates the potential to revive key aspects of extinct animals, marking a new chapter in conservation biotechnology.
