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Scientists announce dire wolf species has been brought back from extinction after 10,000 years

https://www.msn.com/en-us/science/zoolo ... r-AA1CuhcO

There are many articles on the development, e.g., the New York Times one below, if one or the other link isn’t working for you.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/scie ... BA7791C6F5

My understanding is that, genetically, the dire wolf is closer to (if not actually) a dog rather than a wolf. 600 pounds of sin, indeed - the dire wolf was framed!

Well... kinda, sorta.

lt all depends upon how you define "species". Morphologically, genetically,...

My take:

- The new animals aren’t truly dire wolves.

- They’re still mighty impressive.

Anyway, I posted on them here not for the science per se but for the dire wolf’s place in the Dead’s catalog.

>> In the wolves’ case, scientists edited the gray wolf genome to approximate the size, color and coat of a dire wolf, Rawlence said. “There are about 19,000 genes in that genome. They looked at all the differences and said there are 20 key differences in 14 key genes that they could change to make a gray wolf look like a dire wolf,” he said. “Their technology is amazing, but my personal view is it needs to be used to conserve the animals we’ve got left,” he said. This could include using money the company has raised to manage existing endangered species or reintroduce genetic diversity among existing species to help them adapt to climate change or diseases.

Jon S. wrote: ↑Tue Apr 08, 2025 4:14 am My understanding is that, genetically, the dire wolf is closer to (if not actually) a dog rather than a wolf. 600 pounds of sin, indeed - the dire wolf was framed!

I think the latest understanding is the opposite. Genetically, the Dire Wolf diverged from the ancestors of modern wolves and dogs more than 5 million years ago. They are now generally put in a different genus and are no longer part of Canis like wolves and dogs.

These new puppies are really not dire wolves at all. Just a handful of genes were modified to make a grey wolf that looks like a dire wolf, but they are thousands of genetic differences away from anything that should be considered an actual dire wolf.

Well, whatever they are, please don’t murder me!

Bill, tgo

Bill's word must be the last because it's un-top-pable!