Scientists Are Eyeing Tasmanian Tigers for an Extinction Comeback — After Bringing Back Dire Wolves
U.S. biotech company Colossal Bioscience and the University of Melbourne are collaborating to revive a number of species lost to history
Lead scientist Professor Andrew Pask revealed they've now mapped the genome of the Tasmanian tiger, an extinct marsupial that hasn't been seen in its natural habitat since 1936
The findings come after Colossal Bioscience announced earlier this year that they've essentially revived the extinct dire wolfScientists have successfully mapped the genome of the Tasmanian tiger, an extinct marsupial native to Australia that was last seen in its natural habitat in 1936.
The discovery, a collaboration between U.S. biotech company Colossal Bioscience and the University of Melbourne, could have the Tasmanian Tiger revived in as little as eight years, 9 News reported.
"We've been able to sequence the entire thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger genome now, absolutely every single bit of code from one end to the other of the genome," Lead scientist Professor Andrew Pask told the outlet.
"We've been able to make the first really key stem cells that we can do this whole genetic engineering process that we need to recreate the thylacine," he added.
Tasmanian Thylacine Advisory Committee chair Derwent Valley Mayor Michelle Dracoulis told 9 News, "The thylacine is not just an animal where I come from, it's part of the identity of the people that live there."
The research announcement comes after Colossal Bioscience similarly managed to revive the extinct dire wolf earlier this year. The company unveiled three fluffy dire wolf pups, named Romulus, Remus and Khalessi. The species of wolves was notably featured in hit show Game of Thrones.
The company uses gene editing to modify the traits of existing animals to the point that their DNA becomes, essentially, that of lost animals.
'Our team took DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull and made healthy dire wolf puppies,' Colossal CEO and co-founder Ben Lamm said in a statement in April.
Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
George R. R. Martin, the writer behind the novels on which Game of Thrones was based, said in a statement at the time, 'Many people view dire wolves as mythical creatures that only exist in a fantasy world, but in reality, they have a rich history of contributing to the American ecosystem.'
Both the dire wolves and Tasmanian tiger projects are a part of Colossal's de-extinction project, in which they are seeking to revive a number of species lost to history.
Read the original article on People
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rare photo captures extraordinary moment in the sea: 'Beautiful'
At first glance, it looks like a drifting ribbon of jelly. But look closer, and you'll see something extraordinary — a translucent spiral floating just below the surface, dotted with hundreds of thousands of tiny pink embryos. This surreal sight, recently captured by rangers from the National Park of American Samoa, is believed to be a floating egg mass laid by a diamondback squid (Thysanoteuthis rhombus) — a large, deep-sea species rarely seen in the act of reproduction. "Each tiny pink dot is a developing embryo," the National Park wrote in its post. "A rare and beautiful reminder of the ocean's wonders." The remarkable images caught the attention of marine experts in Australia, who confirmed the species and shed light on just how unique these sightings are, even in tropical waters. While these photos were taken in Polynesian waters, diamondback squid are also found in Australia. "This large-sized oceanic squid — over 20 kilograms when mature — is distributed globally in tropical and subtropical zones," Dr Wen-Sung Chung, a marine scientist at the University of Queensland, told Yahoo News Australia. "It attracts fisheries interest in several East Asian countries due to its high market price." Dr Chung confirmed the gelatinous ribbon was the egg mass of the diamondback squid, adding that several oceanic squid species produce similar floating structures. "These large, jelly-like egg masses can contain hundreds of thousands of eggs," he said. Incredible photos capture rare moment off Aussie coast Veteran diver devastated over grim Great Barrier Reef report Incredible event 'triggered by full moon' off famous coast "Most hatchlings are only one to two millimetres long and are known as paralarvae, which drift with the current. I haven't seen its egg mass on the Oz coast yet," he added, "but I have indeed seen them repeatedly in Taiwan." Dr Mandy Beasley, from the National Marine Science Centre at Southern Cross University, said the sighting is consistent with the known behaviour of the species. "This oceanic species does occur in Australian waters and is known to have floating egg masses that have been observed also in the Philippines," she told Yahoo. Dr John Healy, curator of malacology at the Queensland Museum, said the egg mass pictured in Samoa is "well over a metre in length" and likely attracted the nearby fish shown in the images. "They may be trying to eat some of the eggs or simply be curious about the mass," he told Yahoo. "The species occurs circumglobally, mainly in tropical and subtropical waters, and certainly in Australian waters — but mostly in pairs or as individuals," he said. "The Queensland Museum has a specimen on display that was fished off the beach at the northern end of Moreton Island in 2010 and donated to our collection." Though the diamondback squid is commercially fished in Japan and parts of Southeast Asia, it's not targeted in Australia. Still, experts say sightings like this — even overseas — help shed light on the mysterious deep-sea lives of oceanic squid and the fragile, fleeting structures they leave behind. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Bloomberg
US Climate-Data Retreat Gives China a New Opportunity
The economic and political importance of monitoring the weather — or at least the effects of weather — was clear to the ancient Egyptians. They came up with the ' nilometer,' a device measuring Nile River flooding that could predict agricultural (and thus tax) yields. It also was likely clear to foreign intelligence agents breaching Australia's Bureau of Meteorology in 2015 (China denied any involvement). From farmers to insurers to homeowners, understanding the weather, how it's changed and what it may do next is of vital economic importance. But in the US, with polarized views on the proven science of climate change, even collecting data has become a partisan issue. The Trump administration for example has cut swathes of spending and personnel tied to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Astronomers detect pulse from satellite that has been dead for decades
PERTH, Australia - Astronomers in Australia believe they have detected a rare radio emission from a satellite that hasn't been heard from in decades. According to the team operating the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, a brief burst of energy from NASA's Relay-2 satellite was detected on June 13, 2024, lasting just 30 nanoseconds — an incredibly short duration. NASA originally launched the communication satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in January 1964. Relay-2 was intended to support communications and assist with mapping radiation belts around Earth, but the satellite began losing transponders in 1966 and suffered a full communications failure on June 9, 1967. So, what caused this sudden signal to reach Earth nearly 60 years later? Scientists have offered a few possibilities. "We consider an electrostatic discharge (ESD) or plasma discharge following a micrometeoroid impact to be plausible explanations for the burst," researchers wrote in a recently released study. See The Objects Humans Left Behind On The Moon The mysterious occurrence is not the first time a defunct satellite has emitted a surprising signal. In 2012, amateur radio operators picked up a pulse from the United States Air Force's Lincoln Experimental Satellite, known as LES-1. That satellite became inactive in 1967, but experts believe its mode of failure, combined with its orbit, allowed it to intermittently transmit signals when its solar-powered batteries were properly aligned with the Sun. Similar events occurred in 2002 and 2010, but occurrences of satellites suddenly showing signs of life are relatively rare. Satellites that unexpectedly come back to life after being declared inoperative are often dubbed "zombie satellites." The Natural History Museum in London estimates that around 2,000 active satellites are currently orbiting Earth, along with more than 3,000 defunct ones. Depending on their design and purpose, satellites typically function for 10 to 15 years but can persist in orbit for much longer. See Renderings Of Space Station To Be Built Around The Moon Unlike previous incidents that were linked to residual battery activity, Australian researchers believe the Relay-2 signal was likely triggered by a sudden electrostatic charge or a small meteoroid strike, both of which can cause unexpected discharges of energy. Researchers say the frequency burst could pave the way for detecting other sudden electrical discharges, with monitoring systems that are already readily available on article source: Astronomers detect pulse from satellite that has been dead for decades
