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Genetically engineered woolly mice could one day help populate the Arctic with hairy, genetically modified elephants and help stop the planet warming.
Those are the startling claims being made by a US company that said on Tuesday it had created mice with “mammoth-like traits”. Colossal Biosciences’ eventual goal is to engineer mammoth-like creatures that could help stop arctic permafrost from melting.
Criticism has flooded in, including that engineering mammoth-like creatures is a big stretch from making mice hairier, as well as being unethical, and that the whole project is a publicity stunt.
But the company says it has been misjudged and that the mouse is an important tool on the path to restoring Earth’s depleted nature.
Colossal Biosciences says that the experiments with hairy mice was a step towards genetically modifying elephants to be hairy and better able to withstand the cold.
Its stated goal is to create herds of what it calls mammoth-like creatures to live in the arctic tundra. The company says the creatures’ grazing habits would encourage grasslands to flourish and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being released from melting permafrost.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas which is one of the main drivers of global warming.
But critics say there are significant scientific challenges to overcome before these changes in mice can be tried out on elephants.
Colossal’s co-founder and CEO, Ben Lam, told BBC News that the woolly mice marked a big step forward.
“We are on track to have the
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