Colossal Biosciences

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/colossal-biosciences

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the company founding?Established in 2021 by George Church and Ben Lamm
2. What is the primary technology?Genetic engineering and reproductive technology for de-extinction
3. Which animals are they trying to bring back?They are working on the woolly mammoth, Tasmanian tiger, dodo, dire wolf, and moa.
4. How do they try to bring back extinct animals?They start by getting old DNA from fossils, then use DNA sequencing and CRISPR to rebuild the animal’s genome. They create a hybrid embryo and grow it in a surrogate mother.

De-extinction: The process of reviving extinct species through advanced genetic and reproductive technologies.
CRISPR-Cas9: A powerful gene-editing tool used to precisely modify DNA sequences.
Keystone Species: A species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance.
Pleistocene Megafauna: Large animals that lived during the Pleistocene epoch, often referred to as the Ice Age.