In real life, Dire Wolves, resurrected from the dead

[Desdichado]

Not what's actually happening, for the record. Time Magazine should be deeply embarrassed for taking PR puffery and turning into a front page story on something that's categorically untrue.

A gray wolf has given birth to a genetically modified wolf. Dire wolves were not wolves and the cubs that have been produced are not dire wolves themselves.

This is a start-up that is excellent at working the media and the public but is not actually accomplishing what people are imagining they are.

Glad I didn't have to be the one to say it first. The PR on this story is deeply irritating to me. These aren't dire wolves at all, they're just CRISPR enhanced wolves. Dire wolves are less closely related to wolves than literally any other of the wolf-line dogs. African painted dogs are closer to wolves than dire wolves are. They probably looked very little like actual wolves at all.

 

[trappedslider]

In general, "should we be doing this" doesn't even scratch the surface of what ethical and moral issues are asked about in accredited scientific institutions. There are literally entire departments and careers based around people asking those type of questions, such as the National Center for Principled Leadership & Research Ethics ( Home ). Scientists are made to "stop and think" at countless levels, from introductory undergrad physics (example from James Madison University: Research Guides: PHYS 105: Foundations of Physics: Ethics in Physics ) to NIH research ( Responsible Conduct of Research Training | NIH Office of Intramural Research ) to independently funded post-doctoral research ( HHMI guidelines: The Conduct of Science | HHMI ).

I would caution folks not to let their enjoyment of 30 year old movie quips to evovle into anti-intellectualism. Also, don't confuse capitalism with scientific advancement.

You seem to have been irked by my comment, I know the scientist who worked on the A-bomb asked if they should be doing it, but did the ones who worked on computers do the same or the ones who worked on the automation of factories? They ask those questions NOW, but did they ask them then?

To use an example from a favorite sci-fi book series of mine, an alien race doesn't introduce any new technology till they fully figure out the ramifications for society no matter how long it takes before they introduce the new technology.

 

[MarkB]

To use an example from a favorite sci-fi book series of mine, an alien race doesn't introduce any new technology till they fully figure out the ramifications for society no matter how long it takes before they introduce the new technology.

Which is basically impossible, since the ramifications of a new technology on a civilisation level are emergent. They can't be predicted or simulated with any degree of reliability.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Yeah, there is no business model for this. This is a play for VC money and, ultimately, getting bought out by a more serious biomedical company that will do something that people will shell out money for, like medical cures or curing baldness, etc.

Even if they could "bring back" the woolly mammoth, they're not going to be releasing them into the wilds of Canada or Siberia,....

I think you're onto something....the wooly mammoth genes seems like the exact perfect thing for curing baldness.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I think you're onto something....the wooly mammoth genes seems like the exact perfect thing for curing baldness.

They've already made a mouse hairier, although the "wooly mouse" didn't get quite the traction that "dire wolves" did.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/04/science/woolly-mouse-mammoth-resurrection-colossal/index.html

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

They've already made a mouse hairier, although the "wooly mouse" didn't get quite the traction that "dire wolves" did.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/04/science/woolly-mouse-mammoth-resurrection-colossal/index.html

I saw that in the Times article. But, for the record, I was being facetious. Maybe I should add a winky face to my post.

 

[trappedslider]

Which is basically impossible, since the ramifications of a new technology on a civilisation level are emergent. They can't be predicted or simulated with any degree of reliability.

So, i went back and looked, it's more of slow walking technology, it also helps that the aliens live to be 200 yrs old and are one group. Like for example with a car, they waited till they added seatbelts, airbags and other protection before releasing the car to the public.

 

[MarkB]

So, i went back and looked, it's more of slow walking technology, it also helps that the aliens live to be 200 yrs old and are one group. Like for example with a car, they waited till they added seatbelts, airbags and other protection before releasing the car to the public.

Protections which were developed as the technology matured and use-cases highlighted the need for them. Without the technology being in active use, they might never have been invented.

 

[dragoner]

Protections which were developed as the technology matured and use-cases highlighted the need for them. Without the technology being in active use, they might never have been invented.

Also it was philosophically wrong, in that trying to make the cars safer, we should have been trying to make roads safer. Most fatalities are not by the vehicle, it is driver error.

 

[MarkB]

Also it was philosophically wrong, in that trying to make the cars safer, we should have been trying to make roads safer. Most fatalities are not by the vehicle, it is driver error.

Indeed. An alien race with the capacity and outlook to develop such safety measures prior to introducing automobiles into society would most likely never have needed them in the first place.