Dire efforts: Resurrecting dire wolf is not credible for conservation, Pg 8

Key Highlights

Colossal Biosciences' De-extinction Project

• U.S. firm attempts to revive extinct species (e.g., woolly mammoth, dire wolf) using genome editing and cloning techniques.

• Aim: restore ecosystems and combat climate change (e.g., grasslands absorbing methane).

Scientific Criticism and Credibility Gaps

• Only 20 genes edited in dire wolf; output is a “strange-looking gray wolf” with no peer-reviewed validation.

• Critics argue that such speculative projects divert attention and funds from urgent conservation of existing species.

Ethical & Resource Questions

• Projects lack ecological oversight and risk being misused for marketing or nationalist propaganda.

• Funding millions on gene revival while biodiversity continues to decline due to habitat loss is seen as misplaced prioritisation.

Analysis & Way Forward

• Scientific efforts must focus on conserving current species and ecosystems rather than sensational resurrection experiments.

• Clear ethical frameworks are needed for gene-editing and biotech in conservation.

Mains Mock Question:

"Do you think scientific de-extinction of species is a viable solution to current biodiversity loss and climate change? Critically examine its implications."