--- title: "Startup Backed By “Jurassic World” Producer Says It Will Revive Extinct Dodo Using Complete Genome" description: "Colossal Sciences, a self-branded \"de-extinction\" company, has rallied another significant amount of funding and has completed sequencing a dodo genome." date: "2023-02-01" modified: "2023-02-01" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/startup-revive-extinct-dodo-using-complete-genome" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "de extinction" - "extinction" - "nature" - "the digest" --- # Startup Backed By “Jurassic World” Producer Says It Will Revive Extinct Dodo Using Complete Genome ![Colossal Sciences, a self-branded "de-extinction" company, has rallied another significant amount of funding and has completed sequencing a dodo genome.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Birdback The flightless bird known as the dodo has been extinct since the late 17th century, when humans hunted them into extinction — but that's not stopping the biotech startup Colossal Sciences from trying to bring it back from the dead. A self-branded "de-extinction" company, Colossal has already made headlines in the past, vaunting its ambitious plans of reviving other animals including the [wooly mammoth]() and the [tasmanian tiger](). Now, [*Bloomberg* reports](), Colossal is armed with a boatload of additional money, bagging another $150 million in investor backing, bringing the total to $225 million since 2021. And even more tantalizingly, according to lead paleogeneticist Beth Shapiro, Colossal is now the sole possessor of a complete dodo genome, sequenced from a DNA sample that was extracted from preserved remains in Denmark. Shapiro says that the company isn't bringing the dodo back just for the hell of it, of course, but to find methods to combat the [ongoing extinction crisis]() that is, bluntly put, [very,]() [very grim](). "We're clearly in the middle of an extinction crisis," Shapiro said, [as quoted by *CNN*](). "And it's our responsibility to bring stories and to bring excitement to people in \[a\] way that motivates them to think about the extinction crisis that's going on right now." ## Torment Nexus Actually resurrecting the dodo, even with a complete genome, will be extremely challenging, and [some would argue impossible](). At best, the result would be the closest possible proxy — a hybrid that's slightly altered — and not a wholly original dodo. And anyone that's watched "Jurassic Park" could tell you that this might be a bad idea, or at least one that should be approached with extreme caution. That isn't deterring investor Thomas Tull, though, whose States Innovative Technology Fund was among Colossal's biggest backers (in full disclosure, the managing partner of Futurism’s parent company North Equity is an investor in Colossal, though neither was involved in this story in any way.) Strikingly, Tull also produced the sans-Spielberg sequel "Jurassic World," an installment in a franchise that warns that resurrecting long-extinct creatures is not a great idea. Then again, dodos aren't anywhere near as ferocious as velociraptors or the [mighty T-Rex](), but the impact of any creature introduced (or reintroduced) into a new ecosystem and food chain, no matter how feeble or fearsome, is difficult to foresee. "When you're doing big things like this, who knows what you're going to discover along the way," Tull said, as quoted by *Bloomberg*. Hopefully we won't be discovering the hard way that, in Jeff Goldblum's iconic words, "Life, uh, finds a way." **More on combating extinction:** [*Zoo Saving DNA From Rare Animals In Case They Go Extinct*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()