Most of us have been raised on the belief that once a species goes extinct, there’s no getting it back. Up to this point in the human record, that statement has been correct, despite all the dinosaur movies pretending to break that rule. However, the world may be a step closer to breaking that rule permanently. 

The AP headline reads Scientists genetically engineer mice with thick hair like the extinct woolly mammoth. If you just did a double-take, you’re not alone. That’s not the kind of headline one expects to see on the average Tuesday, or ever. Sure, we knew that there was a company out there trying to clone a woolly mammoth. The same company wants to bring back the Dodo as well. Some people will say anything for attention. We didn’t expect them to actually succeed.

Yet, that is exactly what the folks at Colossal Biosciences have done. Okay, they don’t actually have a woolly mammoth on their hands. Instead, Colossal’s scientists have simultaneously edited seven genes in mice embryos to create mice with long, thick, woolly hair. They nicknamed the extra-furry rodents as the “Colossal woolly mouse.” 

This is the point where we note that, while Colossal’s research has been published online, it hasn’t been peer-reviewed or examined by an independent scientific entity of any kind. The technology is cool, to be certain, but they’re not raising anything from the dead, so to speak.

Of course, having this knowledge in hand immediately begs the question, “Whyyyyyyyyy?” First of all, there are more than enough mice running wild around the planet as it is. We don’t need a species that’s actually fine hanging out in the cold. Secondly, even if Colossal is one day able to edit woolly mammoth genes into a living elephant embryo, what would they do with such a creature? Would they let it grow and breed, or would they turn around and kill the poor thing so it could be studied some more? 

The whole thing sounds as though it could be rather cruel. The environment that supported the woolly mammoth 4,000 years ago is long gone. Climate change has had a profound impact on the entire planet. Many of the plants on which the mammoth once grazed perished before the woolly beast itself did, and replacing those plant species could be significantly more difficult than re-inventing the mammoth. Then, there’s always the horror movie scenario where a bunch of less-than-bright humans fuck something up and let the Megabeast go rampaging all over the planet. Is that something we want to risk?

There are some benefits to what Colossal is doing, which is the answer to the why question. The first is to advance the field of gene editing as a whole. Consider what they’ve actually done: they took seven strands of genetic DNA from a long-dead species and spliced that into the DNA of another animal, one that happens to be living! That fete alone is impressive! This move helps other researchers in various fields understand which genetic sequences work when mixed with other species. (We probably don’t want to know about the failures they had before getting to this point.)

Second, editing ancient DNA in this way helps us better understand the overall process of evolution, and why some species adapt to climate change and others don’t. This could go a long way in helping us do more to save species whose habitat is currently threatened as critical environments undergo transition.

In fact, mitigating the effects of climate change is a significant reason for doing this type of genetic research in the first place. A better understanding of the woolly mammoth could go a long way toward restoring rapidly depleting permafrost. By trampling snow and promoting grassland growth, they could help maintain colder soil temperatures and reduce the release of greenhouse gases.  

There’s more going on here than just bringing back a fantastic animal from the past. Gene editing and assisted reproduction techniques could help increase genetic diversity and improve the chances of survival for threatened animals. Learning how the wooly mammoth adapted to extreme cold can help scientists understand how modern animals may be able to adapt to changing climates. This information can be used to help modern animals that are threatened by climate change.

Sure, there are some serious ethical concerns raised with the entire subject of gene splicing. We have long assumed that the planet allowed species to go extinct to aid in the evolution of newer, emerging species. Bringing back a long-dead animal like the woolly mammoth could potentially cause just as much ecological harm as it does help. 

Ultimately, we come back to the advice that, “just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” While there are some very good reasons for re-inventing the woolly mammoth, once we begin ‘playing god’ with any source of life, we may find that we endanger our own existence.

And no, woolly mice don’t have tusks, damnit.