A biotechnology company aiming to revive the mammoth succeeds in creating iPS cells from Asian elephants, bringing the mammoth revival one step closer
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Colossal Biosciences (Colossal), an American biotechnology company, aims to bring back extinct animals such as mammoths , dodos , and quolls . Such Colossal has succeeded in creating induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) of the Asian elephant , which is the animal most genetically similar to the extinct woolly mammoth, and has reported that it is one step closer to the revival of the mammoth.
Revolutionary Elephant iPSC Milestone Reached in Colossal's Woolly Mammoth Project | Business Wire
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240306305869/en/Revolutionary-Elephant-iPSC-Milestone-Reached-in-Colossal%E2%80%99s-Woolly-Mammoth-Project
Will these reprogrammed elephant cells ever make a mammoth?
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00670-z
Scientists Create Elephant Stem Cells in the Lab - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/06/science/elephant-stem-cells-woolly-mammoth.html
Woolly mammoth de-extinction inches closer after elephant stem cell breakthrough | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/animals/extinct-species/woolly-mammoth-de-extinction-inches-closer-after-elephant-stem-cell-breakthrough
Colossal is a startup founded in 2021 by Harvard University professor George Church and entrepreneur Ben Lamb with the aim of reviving the extinct mammoth and releasing it into the Arctic. In addition to successfully raising funds of 15 million dollars (approximately 1.65 billion yen at the rate at that time) at the time of launch, it is known that it has also received investment from the CIA, an American intelligence agency.
Colossal is gene editing the Asian elephant, which is the woolly mammoth's closest genetic relative, to give it traits adapted to cold regions, such as a hairy body and abundant fat accumulation. However, as of the time of writing, there are only less than 52,000 wild Asian elephants left, and they are at risk of extinction, so it is not desirable to collect cells from living Asian elephants.
Colossal has been trying to solve this problem by creating Asian elephant iPS cells. Because iPS cells are stem cells that can differentiate into any cell in the body, scientists can test gene editing techniques and cold-weather adaptation without harvesting tissue from living animals. It is possible to.
On March 6, 2024 local time, Colossal announced that it had finally succeeded in creating Asian elephant iPS cells. 'These cells will definitely be of great benefit in our work to bring back extinct animals,' said Eliona Heisoli, Colossal's head of biological sciences.
Until now, iPS cells of various animals such as the endangered northern
'One of the things we had to overcome with elephant cells is that the TP53 pathway is widespread in elephant cells,' commented Haisori. Therefore, Dr. Haisori's research team succeeded in creating Asian elephant iPS cells by creating a molecule that inhibits the production of TP53 protein.
The research team has already succeeded in growing Asian elephant iPS cells into embryo-like cell clusters. Mr. Hisori and his colleagues plan to change some genes in the iPS cells from those of elephants to those of woolly mammoths and see if this leads to changes in the cells themselves. Using this strategy, it may be possible to create ``elephant cell clusters with mammoth-like fur.''
'When we embarked on the woolly mammoth restoration project, we knew it would be difficult, but we have always assembled the best team on the planet,' said Lamb, Colossal's founder. , we have focused on the task at hand. We are proud to share this success with the scientific community, which has many potential applications. Each step will help bring back the iconic woolly mammoth. We are moving closer to our long-term goal of
by Richard Droker
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