How de-extincting dire wolves and woolly mammoths may extend human life

Colossal Biosciences' efforts to bring back extinct animals like the woolly mammoth and dire wolves have drawn comparisons to Jurassic Park. CEO and co-founder Ben Lamm told CNBC's Julia Boorstin at the CNBC AI Forum last week that he understands those comparisons. "I think anyone that saw Jurassic Park in the 90s and didn't say it was cool, like I don't think they're probably very fun at parties," Lamm joked. "But yes, I saw the movies. I love them. They entertained us. They scared us." However, Lamm said, "I constantly have to remind people on X that, you know, they were movies," he said. "I don't think Jurassic Park had any conservation or general human benefit models to it, so we've tried to take a slightly different perspective." Since viable dinosaur DNA is no longer available, bringing back dinosaurs is, in fact, impossible. But what is underway at Colossal, besides the dire wolf and woolly mammoth projects, is work to genetically engineer the dodo bird, the Tasmanian tiger, and a giant bird called a moa, among others. "It's highly likely in the next coming year or two, people will continue to see us deliver extinct species back to Earth, and we could even have more dire wol...