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 NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 23 #599

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 599.

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.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be Halloween-themed, as the answers are all rather dangerous. Some of them are a bit tough to unscramble, so 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: Please don’t eat me!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Remember Mr. Yuk?

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:

POND, NOON, NODE, BALE, SOCK, LOVE, LOCK, MOCK, LEER, REEL, GLOVE, DAIS, LEAN, LEAD, REEL

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:

AZALEA, HEMLOCK, FOXGLOVE, OLEANDER, BELLADONNA

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is POISONOUS. To find it, look for the P that is the first letter on the far left of the top row, and wind down and across.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Oct. 23, #395

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 395.

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

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has one of those crazy purple categories, where you wonder if anyone saw the connection, or if people just put that grouping together because only those four words were left. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Fan noise.

Green group hint: Strategies for hoops.

Blue group hint: Minor league.

Purple group hint: Look for a connection to hoops.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Sounds from the crowd.

Green group: Basketball offenses.

Blue group: Triple-A baseball teams.

Purple group: Ends with a basketball stat.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is sounds from the crowd. The four answers are boo, cheer, clap and whistle.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is basketball offenses. The four answers are motion, pick and roll, Princeton and triangle.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is triple-A baseball teams. The four answers are Aces, Jumbo Shrimp, Sounds and Storm Chasers.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends with a basketball stat. The four answers are afoul, bassist, counterpoint and sunblock.

Technologies

Amazon’s Delivery Drivers Will Soon Wear AI Smart Glasses to Work

The goal is to streamline the delivery process while keeping drivers safe.

Amazon announced on Wednesday that it is developing new AI-powered smart glasses to simplify the delivery experience for its drivers. CNET smart glasses expert Scott Stein mentioned this wearable rollout last month, and now the plan is in its final testing stages.

The goal is to simplify package delivery by reducing the need for drivers to look at their phones, the label on the package they’re delivering and their surroundings to find the correct address.

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A heads-up display will activate as soon as the driver parks, pointing out potential hazards and tasks that must be completed. From there, drivers can locate and scan packages, follow turn-by-turn directions and snap a photograph to prove delivery completion without needing to take out their phone.

The company is testing the glasses in select North American markets.

Watch: See our Instagram post with a video showing the glasses

A representative for Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

To fight battery drain, the glasses pair with a controller attached to the employee’s delivery vest, allowing them to replace depleted batteries and access operational controls. The glasses will support an employee’s eyeglass prescription. An emergency button will be within reach to ensure the driver’s safety.

Amazon is already planning future versions of the glasses, which will feature «real-time defect detection,» notifying the driver if a package was delivered to the incorrect address. They plan to add features to the glasses to detect if pets are in the yard and adjust to low light.