Colossal Biosciences Creates Woolly Mouse: Key Step in Mammoth Revival

Colossal Biosciences Creates Woolly Mouse: Key Step in Mammoth Revival

Colossal Biosciences, known for its outlandish goal to resurrect the woolly mammoth by 2028, is claiming steady progress. Its evidence: genetically engineering mice to have mammoth-like fur.  Image Credits:Colossal Biosciences           To engineer the woolly mouse, the company’s scientists found mouse versions of mammoth genes and then used CRISPR to edit mice embryos, Dr. Beth Shapiro, chief science officer at Colossal, told TechCrunch. Then, those embryos were implanted into surrogate mouse moms. The company says that the woolly mice’s fur is of a color, texture, and thickness that resembles a mammoth’s traits. Colossal Biosciences believes the woolly coat will enable its genetically engineered mice to survive in cold climates. Still, the company must first obtain approval from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), which ensures ethical and humane animal research, before conducting such experiments. Shapiro said the company needs to test the engineered mice’s cold to…