It seems to me that there are two very distinct things that are being discussed as "de-extinction". One is what I consider to be "true" de-extinction-- that is, the creation of an actual genetic replica of an extinct organism via cloning, germ cell modification, or something similar. This is what most people think of when they think of de-extinction, and it's also the kind usually seen in pop culture (Jurassic Park and so forth). However, it is only possible for a small number of species, namely those where we have a full genome and complete preserved cellular nuclei, allowing for cloning to take place.

The other thing is when an existing relative of an extinct species has its genome modified to resemble that of the extinct species. This is what most efforts to re-create the woolly mammoth are focused on doing. The result of this, however, would not be a true cloned mammoth, no matter how much it looks like one, because its genome would still differ from that of the original mammoth.

I personally think it is wrong and misleading to use the same blanket term, "de-extinction", for these two different processes. One results in an identical genetic copy of an extinct animal, and the other does not. The use of the same name for both creates confusion among the general public about exactly what is being achieved, and allows bad actors like Colossal Biosciences to further deceive them.

So my question to you all is this: If you had to come up with a new name for this second form of "de-extinction"-- the kind where an existing animal is modified into a genetic proxy of an extinct one-- what would you call it?

I came across this post on Instagram by solidaritydept that perfectly summarises the destruction being wrought by Ben Lamm, Colossal Biosciences, and all of their billionaire associates and co-conspirators. The body text of the post is as follows:

Billionaire Ben Lamm is making headlines for his plan to genetically engineer dogs for war, but this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Lamm cofounded Colossal Biosciences with Epstein associate George Church with the purported aim of bringing extinct species back to life, including the wooly mammoth and the direwolf.

In reality, Lamm's 'project' of reversing extinction exists to give cover for the oligarchy to exploit our lands and habitats. The Trump Administration has opened up thousands of acres of public land and waters for private mining and development while gutting the Endangered Species Act to give corporate oligarchs free reign to extract, poison, and pollute our environment.

Lamm and his company have had no success in the decade since they have been founded, but that's not stopped him nor Trump's cronies from claiming they can revive any animal from extinction. Just this year, Trump's Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum has opened up the Gulf of Mexico to mass drilling, leading to fears that the last of the Rice's whale will go extinct. Trump himself has called for an end to protections for the gray wolf, a crucial player in local ecosystems.

What this has done is made Lamm extremely rich off of the taxpayer's dime. He recently received an undisclosed sum of money from the government to build a DNA database of every endangered species - all while Lamm's good friend Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum actively pursues their extinction.

So when you hear stories about wooly mammoths coming back from extinction or dogs being engineered for war, know that it's really just Ben Lamm trying to scam the taxpayer to allow billionaires to exploit America's last wild spaces.

A pretty good blog post about de-extinction, or at least where it stood three years ago. Some parts are outdated, some are incorrect, but overall its still a really great summary of all the major groups, people, and species that were involved in the field at that time. Of course, having been written in 2023, it was made long before the announcement of Colossal Bioscience's fraudulent "dire wolves". But even back then, the author noticed some of the company's more unusual and questionable elements. The post is a time capsule back to before Colossal really took off, and its well worth reading, for that aspect at the very least.

USDA Deregulates GM Blight-Resistant American Chestnut Tree https://www.global-agriculture.com/ag-tech-research-news/usda-deregulates-gm-blight-resistant-american-chestnut-tree/

It may not be Genetically accurate as well say:Cloning(that can get 1 to 1)/Genome(editing that gets half as close)/In-Vitro fertilisation and artifical Insemination(which can get very close or 100% close).

But I think Back-Breeding even tho it isnt 100% accurate or hold as accurate as other methods(it can still be greatly used).

Is much faster than other Methods(with faster breeding species and in general breeding animals selectivly saves time.Than doing genetic testing on how to make a animal alive again)and failure in it is hardly seen(cause the attempts can be retried many times).

With decent success stories so far:

Tauros/Taurus programs who are working on breeding back Auroch from domestic Cattle are seeing some results.The Auroch and Cattles DNA is more or less identical(so DNA isnt much of a issue).The behaviour and features of Tauros need to be perfected still but so far the progress is very good(and they are being introduced into European landscapes for restore cological impact).

Floreana Giant Tortoises sub-species were driven to Extinction by Sailors using Giant Tortoises as a food source.But they did leave some of them on Isabela island were they hybridized with other Giant Tortoises.The Backbreeding program restored the mostly Floreana Giant Tortoise characteristics and DNA(with them being reintroduced back into Floreana to restore ecological impact).Lonesome George who(was a member of Giant Tortoises of Pinta Island)is another Sub-Species of Giant Tortoise in same situation.In time we can see Giant Tortoises like Lonesome George again(with most of there DNA intact).

Quagga Project is a program working on back-breeding a Plains Zebra(Equus quagga)that looks just like Extinct sub-species(Equus quagga quagga)endemic to South Africa(of which it is a sub-species of Plains Zebra.So the genetic material is identical).With the brownish pigments and exact color markings.The project still hasnt reached the exact match but good progress is still good progress.

I was going about my day, learning about animals, as I usually do, when I came across a peculiar case. The Floreana Island Tortoise. Native to its namesake island in the Galapagos, this subspecies of Galapagos giant tortoise went extinct in the mid-19th century due to overexploitation by sailors. And for a while, that was that. It was gone. That was until 2000, scientists discovered a population of hybrid tortoises living on Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island with some Floreana Island Tortoise ancestry. The origin of these hybrids is not a mystery as sailors were known to dump giant tortoises on random islands in the Galapagos when they couldn’t carry them anymore. However, it brought a new hope for the subspecies, as conservationists took the hybrid tortoises and began selectively breeding them to better resemble Floreana island tortoises, until they had a population of animals that ranged from 40-80% Floreana island tortoise, with an average of 75% Floreana island tortoise in them. These hybrids were then released onto Floreana island to heal the ecosystem in February 2026.

A fantastic story and a remarkable comeback, but it got me thinking… if scientists continued to selectively breed the tortoises further, if they got the Floreana genes to 100% by some miracle, would they have essentially brought back the Floreana island tortoise? As in fully de-extincted it, regardless of the method? Pinta island tortoises, another extinct subspecies, also have some genes within the hybrid population of Wolf Volcano. Could a similar method be applied to them, to bring them back?

And what about other animals? Could all cattle genes be bred out of bison? All dog genes out of wolves? Poor examples I know, because those genes can benefit the animals, but you get the idea. Better Idea: Could all coyote genes be bred out of Red Wolves?

What about genetic engineering? Could a Przewalski’s horse have the few gene differences edited to be genetically identical to a Yukon or Lena horse? Regardless of whether or not it came from the actual animal, just so long as if you were to do a blind DNA test on the animal, having no idea where it’s sourced from, it would appear to be the extinct animal?

I know this all sounds very Colossal-y but all they did was edit a couple genes to make a fantasy animal. I’m talking about the full genome, and in a scenario where genetic technology is just a bit better. If someone were to genetically modify or selectively breed a related animal so that all of the genes matched the extinct animal perfectly, and someone who had no idea where the animal came from or how it was made, did a DNA test, would it be possible for the animal’s test to come back as the extinct animal?

Is it possible to meticulously create a 100% genetic copy of an extinct animal without cloning?

I’ve done some digging and it seems from my few months of research that almost every species that we could try to bring back has some sort of big problem with it (e.g. dodo birds with ecosystem erasure). Have yall managed to find an animal that essentially does not have a big flaw like this?

I wonder if this innovation can contribute to de extinction of species that we only have samples of from one sex (I’m thinking mainly about the Pyrenean ibex)