Scientists claim to have "resurrected" the dire wolf, extinct 12,500 years ago
An international team of scientists claims to have revived the extinct "dire wolf" through genetic engineering, more than 12,000 years after its disappearance.
"The challenge was enormous. The DNA was damaged and fragmented, but we managed to reconstruct almost 90% of the functional genome," said Dr. Elena Vogt, a geneticist at the European Institute of Palaeogenetics.
The edited embryo was successfully implanted into a female gray wolf, resulting in the birth of the first pup with genetic characteristics equivalent to those of the original dire wolf.
What is a dire wolf?
Popularized by series like Game of Thrones, the dire wolf was a real predator, more robust and powerful than today's gray wolf. It lived during the last Ice Age and hunted large prey such as bison and horses.
Ethical debate in the scientific community
While some celebrate the experiment as a feat of modern science, others warn of the ecological and ethical risks of bringing back extinct species.
"The world today is not the same as it was 12,000 years ago. Where will this animal fit in?" asks ecologist Marcus Lin of Stanford University.
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