Technologies

What De-Extinction Means for the Living World

With much controversy swirling around Colossal’s proxy dire wolves, we spoke with the company’s CEO to find out how these animals were created and what so-called de-extinction technology could mean for endangered species.

Some people will tell you that the dire wolves are back, while others will tell you they are not. Colossal Biosciences kicked off an avalanche of media coverage, including both hype and harsh criticism, when the company said it brought back dire wolves, an extinct species given renewed popularity by its role in the Game of Thrones franchise, using gene-editing and cloning technology.

We will discuss the details of what Colossal has accomplished, but this technology also raises a bigger question with wider-reaching implications: What does de-extinction mean for the living world and endangered species fighting for survival?

Proxy dire wolves

Three animals — two males named Romulus and Remus and a female named Khaleesi — are at the center of the controversy.

Colossal created the wolf pups by taking DNA from an existing species, the gray wolf, and making 20 edits to 14 genes designed to produce traits associated with the dire wolf: size, the color of their coats and more. The embryos were implanted into large dogs and reportedly delivered by a planned cesarean section.

Much of the debate around this issue has centered on whether gene-edited gray wolves can be accurately called «dire wolves» and if their creation can truly be considered «de-extinction.»

«It’s never gonna be possible to bring something back that’s genetically identical to a species that used to be around, and also a species is more than just its DNA,» said Beth Shapiro, Colossal’s chief science officer. «It’s the DNA interacting with the ecosystem, which also isn’t present.»

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature defines de-extinction as «the process of creating an organism that resembles an extinct species,» with the critical caveat that the term itself is misleading. Thinking of de-extinct versions of animals as a proxy for the original animals, rather than a faithful reproduction, adds some clarity to the conversation.

How Colossal’s de-extinction works

To understand how it works, look at the first gene-edited species Colossal announced: woolly mice. This demonstrates the company’s ability to make several gene edits at once.

«It’s the same genes that evolved in elephants and evolved in mice, but it was variants in those genes we know are compatible with a healthy mouse,» Shapiro said.

Colossal has produced about 38 woolly mice, and more are on the way. The mice are also reproducing.

Colossal seeks to answer some of the questions with its wooly mice include whether the edits will affect the mice’s ability to thrive in colder climates and the long-term effects of CRISPR gene editing at multiple sites in the animal’s genome.

Animal welfare

Colossal says it prioritizes the creation of healthy animals over things like editing the maximum number of genes or adding in genes exactly as they existed in extinct species. «Every edit carries some risk,» Shapiro said. «We did AI modeling of 3D protein folding, turning genes up and down slightly rather than changing them in some dramatic way.»

Even with precautions, Shapiro acknowledged things don’t always go according to plan. Khaleesi, Colossal’s female proxy dire wolf, had a sister who died at about day 10 due to an infection. «It was confirmed not to be a result of our editing,» Shapiro said.

Endangered species

Along with the proxy dire wolves, Colossal says it has cloned four endangered red wolves. The US Fish & Wildlife Service has estimated that fewer than 20 red wolves are left in the wild and about 270 are in captivity.

Colossal’s red wolf clones were made using genes from what the company is calling «ghost wolves,» a population of what were believed to be coyotes living in western Louisiana and eastern Texas that were revealed to have a significant portion of red wolf DNA.

Colossal CEO Ben Lamm says the clones «increased genetic diversity of the captive breeding pool by up to 25%.»

Lamm also highlighted the company’s pledge to make much of its de-extinction technologies available for free, including genetic rescue (adding genetic diversity to small at-risk populations), biobanking (preservation of biological samples) and cryo-freezing (cold storage of biological samples).

What’s next?

Questions and concerns still loom, many of which have been laid out by the IUCN, the same organization that provided Colossal’s working definition of de-extinction and acknowledged it as misleading.

Among the potential disadvantages to de-extinction raised by the IUCN is a possible decrease in support for preventing extinctions. If the public misbelieves that extinction is reversible due to the popularity of de-extinction in the news, could that promote apathy about ongoing conservation efforts?

Risk to animals, including those created by gene-editing and cloning, surrogate animals and any potential future offspring or hybrid species (even re-extinction), is also a concern.

Then there are the challenges of potential rewilding, its effects on the ecosystem, the potential for invasiveness of proxy species in their new environment and the risk of disease.

This brings us back to where we began, with the trio of proxy dire wolves who will live out their lives on a 2,000-acre preserve in an undisclosed location.

Check out the video in this article to see Colossal’s proxy dire wolves in action and hear our interviews with the company’s CEO and chief science officer.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for July 5, #1477

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for July 5, No. 1,477.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a pretty tough one. I grew up on a farm, so I know the word, but I didn’t put it together right away, even though the letters are common ones. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

There is are two vowels in today’s Wordle answer.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with the letter B.

Wordle hint No. 4: Down on the farm

Today’s Wordle answer describes a piece of farm equipment.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer refers to a machine for making paper, hay, or cotton into bales.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is BALER.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, July 4, No. 1476 was CURVE.

Recent Wordle answers

June 30, No. 1472: BLINK

July 1, No. 1473: MOLDY

July 2, No. 1474: INCUR

July 3, No. 1475: POPPY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for July 5, #489

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for July 5, No. 489.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

The theme of today’s NYT Strands puzzle isn’t terribly tough, but at least one of the words is unusual and really, really long to unscramble. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Every second counts.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Does anybody really know what time it is?

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

DIAL, SOLE, MOLE, MOLES, SHAKE, CHEEP, ROLE, HOME, LOCK, MEAT, TAME, TAMES, ROLES, ROON, TRON

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

CLOCK, WATCH, SUNDIAL, HOURGLASS, CHRONOMETER

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is TIMEKEEPERS. To find it, look for the T that’s four letters down on the far left, and wind across.

Technologies

Microsoft Is Eliminating Passwords in August: Here’s What You Need to Do to Prepare

Microsoft Authenticator has already stopped autofilling passwords, but the biggest change comes next month.

In June, Microsoft Authenticator stopped letting users create new passwords. In July, it turned off the autofill password function. And in August, the login app will stop supporting passwords entirely, moving to more secure passkeys, such as a PIN, fingerprint or facial recognition.

Attila Tomaschek, CNET’s software senior writer and digital security expert, says that passkeys are a safer alternative to the risky password habits practiced by 49% of US adults, according to a recent survey by CNET.

«Passwords can be cracked, whereas passkeys need both the public and the locally stored private key to authenticate users, which can help mitigate risks like falling victim to phishing and brute-force or credential-stuffing attacks,» Tomaschek said.

Using the same password for several accounts or adding personal hints can be a convenient way to remember your login. But that puts you at a big risk for scammers, identity theft and fraud. Here’s more on Microsoft’s plan for eliminating passwords and how to make the switch to passkeys before August.

When will Microsoft Authenticator stop supporting passwords?

Microsoft Authenticator houses your passwords and lets you sign into all your Microsoft accounts using a PIN, facial recognition like Windows Hello, or other biometric data like a fingerprint. Authenticator can be used in other ways, such as verifying you’re logging in if you forgot your password, or using two-factor authentication as an extra layer of security for your accounts. In June, the company stopped letting users add passwords to Authenticator, but here’s a timeline of other changes you can expect from Microsoft.

July 2025: You won’t be able to use the autofill password function.
August 2025: You’ll no longer be able to use saved passwords.

If you still want to use passwords instead of passkeys, you can store them in Microsoft Edge. However, CNET experts recommend adopting passkeys during this transition. «Passkeys use public key cryptography to authenticate users, rather than relying on users themselves creating their own (often weak or reused) passwords to access their online accounts,» Tomaschek said.

Why are passkeys a better alternative to passwords?

So what exactly is a passkey? It’s a credential created by the Fast Identity Online Alliance that uses biometric data or a PIN to verify your identity and access your account. Think about using your fingerprint or Face ID to log into your account. That’s generally safer than using a password that is easy to guess or susceptible to a phishing attack.

Passkeys aren’t stored on servers like passwords. Instead, they’re stored only on your personal device. More conveniently, this takes the guesswork out of remembering your passwords and the need for a password manager.

How to set up a passkey in Microsoft Authenticator

Microsoft said in a May 1 blog post that it will automatically detect the best passkey to set up and make that your default sign-in option. «If you have a password and ‘one-time code’ set up on your account, we’ll prompt you to sign in with your one-time code instead of your password. After you’re signed in, you’ll be prompted to enroll a passkey. Then the next time you sign in, you’ll be prompted to sign in with your passkey,» according to the blog post.

To set up a new passkey, open your Authenticator app on your phone. Tap on your account and select «Set up a passkey.» You’ll be prompted to log in with your existing credentials. After you’re logged in, you can set up the passkey.