US EditionScience news this week: 'Bringing back' giant ancient birds and a shift in Earth's poles
NEW ZEALAND, JUL 12 – Colossal Biosciences plans to resurrect the extinct South Island giant moa using ancient DNA and gene editing with $15 million funding from filmmaker Peter Jackson, aiming for ecological restoration.
- On July 8, Colossal Biosciences, a biotech firm based in Texas, revealed plans to genetically recreate a living bird modeled after the giant flightless moa that once inhabited New Zealand’s South Island but disappeared around 600 years ago.
- The initiative follows a partnership formed about two years ago involving filmmaker Peter Jackson, the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre, and Colossal's CEO, with the moa extinct roughly 600 years ago due to overhunting.
- The project aims to extract and compare ancient DNA from well-preserved moa bones to living relatives like emus, with the goal to bioengineer a moa-like bird and restore historic habitats to support native wildlife.
- Jackson said the work will help endangered species today, and Colossal claimed to have produced dire wolf pups via gene editing, but critics argue de-extinction is controversial and may divert resources from conservation.
- The project is in early stages with no timeline for a moa-like bird birth, and Colossal stresses this technology will complement existing conservation efforts amid ecological and cultural collaboration.
12 Articles
12 Articles
After the dire wolf, scientist want to 'resurrect' the tallest bird that ever lived. Is it possible?
The South Island giant moa, Dinornis robustus, stood up to 12 feet tall and was driven to extinction about 600 years ago due to human hunting. Colossal Biosciences, in collaboration with New Zealand’s Ngāi Tahu Research Centre and backed by $15 million from Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, is attempting to recreate a genetically modified proxy using moa DNA and CRISPR editing in emus or tinamous
Director backs plan to revive extinct bird
WASHINGTON — Filmmaker Peter Jackson owns one of the largest private collections of bones of an extinct New Zealand bird called the moa. His fascination with the flightless ostrich-like bird led to an unusual partnership with a biotech company known…
The American company Colossal Biosciences, known for projects involving the woolly mammoth and the dire wolf, now wants to "revive" the giant moa. The giant moa, probably the largest bird ever, at 3.5 meters, once lived in New Zealand. The company is receiving funding from director Peter Jackson, himself a huge moa fan. But many experts question the feasibility and desirability of yet another such project.
The Company That Brought Back Dire Wolves Plans to De-Extinct a Giant Bird Next, with Peter Jackson's Help
'Lord of the Rings' director Peter Jackson and his partner Fran Walsh invested $15 million in Colossal Biosciences to bring back the extinct South Island giant moa. The company previously revived the extinct dire wolf
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