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Can we really bring extinct species back? Evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro says yes — and she’s here to tell us how.

As Chief Science Officer at Colossal, Beth Shapiro’s team made headlines in spring 2025 with the announcement of the de-extinction of the dire wolf. She takes us behind the headlines to explain how this is no “Jurassic Park” fantasy. She breaks down exactly how her team used ancient DNA, CRISPR genome editing, and the genomes of modern relatives to bring back lost traits and create animals capable of thriving in today’s ecosystems. Along the way, she dives into the surprising challenges of this work — from the quest for artificial wombs to the ethics of genetic engineering — and reveals how the same tools powering de-extinction are already helping endangered species survive.

Beth Shapiro is an evolutionary biologist and Chief Science Officer at Colossal, a company notably responsible for the de-extinction of the dire wolf. She is also a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz. Her research focuses on species evolution and the continued impact of human activities, considering questions about domestication, speciation and pathogen evolution. She is also exploring techniques to recover trace amounts of DNA from samples and the possible role of genomic technologies in the fields of conservation and medicine.

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"Particles of Thought" is hosted by Hakeem Oluseyi, an astrophysicist, author, STEM educator, multi-patented inventor, science journalist, TV personality, science communicator, and inspirational speaker. His research is based on "hacking stars" to understand our universe better and develop innovative new technologies. Oluseyi’s work has resulted in 11 patents and more than 100 publications covering contributions to astrophysics, cosmology, and plasma physics and the development of space missions, observatories, focal plane instruments, detectors, semiconductor manufacturing, and ion propulsion.

Chapters
00:00 What is De-Extinction? Reviving the Dire Wolf
30:05 Ethics and Backlash for Cloning with Ancient DNA
37:58 Modifying DNA to Bring Species Back to Life
45:19 The Future of De-Extinction

#podcast #sciencepodcast #extinction #dna #direwolf #mammoth

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