Since 1662, the dodo has stood as humanity's most recognizable monument to its own destructive reach — a creature hunted to oblivion within decades of first contact. Now, a Dallas biotech firm called Colossal Biosciences is attempting to reopen that closed chapter, using artificial intelligence and gene editing to reconstruct the dodo's genome and gradually introduce its traits into living relatives, with the long-held dream of returning the bird to the forests of Mauritius. The project raises questions that science alone cannot answer: whether resurrection is a form of redemption, and whether
US Biotech Firm Advances Dodo De-Extinction With AI-Powered Genetic Analysis
Extinction doesn't have to be permanent
Mark
So they're saying they can actually bring the dodo back? What's the actual progress here versus the hype?
Mimi
They've sequenced 95 percent of the dodo genome and built an AI tool that narrows down which genetic changes made the dodo look like a dodo. That's real progress on the science side.
Luke
But they haven't hatched a dodo yet, and they're not saying when they will. The genome is 95 percent complete, which sounds high until you realize ancient DNA is always fragmented and they only have one dodo genome to reference.
Mark
Why does having only one genome matter so much?
Mimi
Normally scientists compare many genomes from the same species to figure out which differences are unique and which are just normal variation. With the dodo, there's only one, so they can't do that comparison.
Luke
That's why they built GenoMorph—it studies 70 living bird species to figure out which genetic switches control beak shape. It's clever, but it's still an inference. They've narrowed it down to 2,300 candidate genes, and now they're testing them in the lab.
Mark
And they're going to edit a pigeon to have dodo traits?
Mimi
Yes, the Nicobar pigeon. It's the dodo's closest living relative, and they've got 36 of them breeding in Texas now.
Luke
That's the other thing—even if they get the genetics right, they have to breed the edited birds across generations and make sure the traits actually stick. And then they have to prepare Mauritius, which means removing invasive species that killed the dodo in the first place.
Mark
So how far away are we really?
Mimi
Colossal hasn't given a timeline. The company says it's working with Mauritian officials and conservation groups on what a dodo return would actually look like.
Luke
Which is honest, because the hard part isn't just the biology anymore—it's the ecology and the politics of putting an extinct animal back on an island where humans already live.
Le Pouls
- Colossal Biosciences has sequenced 95% of the dodo genome and built an AI tool called GenoMorph that has narrowed hundreds of thousands of genetic variables down to roughly 2,300 candidates responsible for the bird's iconic beak and face.
- The company's plan hinges on editing the genes of the Nicobar pigeon — the dodo's closest living relative — and a breeding colony of 36 of these birds is already established in Texas, making the project feel less theoretical by the week.
- Ancient DNA arrives in fragments and the team has only one complete dodo genome, making it extraordinarily difficult to separate what made the dodo unique from ordinary genetic noise within the species.
- Even if the genetics succeed, the road ahead includes validating each edit, ensuring traits pass across generations, and clearing Mauritius of the invasive predators that caused the original extinction — a conservation undertaking in its own right.
- Colossal frames the dodo's return not merely as a scientific feat but as a philosophical argument: that extinction caused by human action need not be the final word.
Since 1662, the dodo has stood as humanity's most recognizable monument to its own destructive reach — a creature hunted to oblivion within decades of first contact. Now, a Dallas biotech firm called Colossal Biosciences is attempting to reopen that closed chapter, using artificial intelligence and gene editing to reconstruct the dodo's genome and gradually introduce its traits into living relatives, with the long-held dream of returning the bird to the forests of Mauritius. The project raises questions that science alone cannot answer: whether resurrection is a form of redemption, and whether the island — and the world — is ready to receive what was once so carelessly lost.
A Dallas biotech company called Colossal Biosciences announced this week that it has moved meaningfully closer to one of science's most audacious ambitions — bringing the dodo back from extinction. The company has completed 95 percent of the dodo genome and developed an AI platform, GenoMorph, that studied skull and beak development across more than 70 living bird species to identify which genetic switches shape their features. From hundreds of thousands of possibilities, the system narrowed the field to roughly 2,300 genetic candidates likely responsible for the dodo's famous hooked beak and distinctive face. Those targets are now being tested in the laboratory.
Colossal's strategy is to edit the genome of the Nicobar pigeon — a living, flying bird from Southeast Asian islands and the dodo's closest genetic relative — introducing dodo traits one step at a time. A breeding colony of 36 Nicobar pigeons has already been established in Texas to study their development and reproduction. The company has also made a technical advance intended to speed up the process of confirming whether a given genetic edit actually produces the intended physical result, though no timeline for hatching a dodo has been announced.
The scientific obstacles are formidable. Ancient DNA survives only in fragments, and researchers have just one complete dodo genome to work from, making it difficult to distinguish what was uniquely dodo from ordinary variation within the species. CEO Ben Lamm acknowledged further hurdles: proving which edits matter, successfully making many of them in a single bird, and ensuring the changes are heritable across generations.
Beyond the biology lies an ecological challenge. The dodo disappeared from Mauritius in 1662, largely because the humans who arrived in the 16th century brought with them rats and other predators the ground-nesting, fearless bird had no defenses against. Colossal says it is working with Mauritian scientists, conservation groups, and the government to plan a potential return — work that would first require removing invasive species and restoring habitat, efforts that would benefit native wildlife regardless of whether a dodo ever sets foot on the island again. No release sites have been chosen, and whether the dodo will ever exist as anything more than a symbol remains, for now, an open question.
A Dallas-based biotech company called Colossal Biosciences announced this week that it has moved closer to an audacious goal: bringing the dodo back to life. The company has completed 95 percent of the dodo genome and developed a new artificial intelligence tool to identify which genetic changes gave the extinct bird its famous hooked beak and distinctive facial structure. If the work succeeds, the dodo—extinct since 1662—could one day walk the forests of Mauritius again, the Indian Ocean island where humans and the animals they brought with them hunted it to extinction in the 17th century.
Colossal's approach is to use gene editing to introduce dodo traits into the cells of the Nicobar pigeon, a living bird native to Southeast Asian islands that is the dodo's closest genetic relative. Unlike the dodo, the Nicobar pigeon can fly and displays shimmering green and copper feathers. The company has already established a breeding colony of 36 Nicobar pigeons in Texas to study their development, reproduction, and genetics. The company also announced it has made a technical advance that should reduce the time needed to test whether a genetic edit actually produces the desired trait, though it has not yet announced when it expects to hatch an actual dodo.
The central scientific challenge is that ancient DNA always arrives in fragments, and researchers have only one complete dodo genome to work with. This makes it nearly impossible to distinguish which genetic differences made the dodo unique from ordinary variation within the species. To solve this problem, Colossal built an AI platform called GenoMorph. The system studies how skulls and beaks develop across more than 70 living bird species and learns which genetic switches control their shape. By analyzing this comparative data, GenoMorph narrowed hundreds of thousands of possible genetic changes down to about 2,300 candidates likely responsible for the dodo's iconic beak and facial features. Those targets are now being validated in laboratory experiments.
Ben Lamm, Colossal's CEO and co-founder, framed the dodo project as a statement about extinction itself. "The dodo is the world's best-known symbol of extinction caused by people," he said. "It disappeared within decades of humans arriving on Mauritius, largely because of the introduction of invasive species like rats and other animals they brought. Bringing it back shows extinction doesn't have to be permanent." The dodo was a ground-nesting bird about three feet tall and weighing up to 50 pounds. Having never encountered humans before, dodos showed no fear of the people who reached Mauritius in the 16th century and were vulnerable to both hunting and the predators humans introduced.
Colossal is not limiting itself to the dodo. The company has six species on its de-extinction list: the dodo, the dire wolf (which it says it has already genetically engineered by editing gray wolf genes), the woolly mammoth, the thylacine or Tasmanian tiger, the bluebuck antelope, and the moa, a large flightless bird from New Zealand. But the path from genetic blueprint to living animal remains steep. Lamm acknowledged the major hurdles still ahead: proving which genetic changes actually matter, making many of those edits successfully in a bird, and ensuring those changes pass to the next generation. Beyond the biology, the company must also prepare a safe home for dodos on Mauritius.
Colossal says it is working with Mauritian scientists, conservation groups, and the Mauritius government to plan what a dodo return might look like. Lamm noted that preparing the island for dodos means removing invasive predators and restoring habitat—work that would also benefit the native species living there now. No release sites will be chosen until the ecological work and community consultation are complete, but the company's stated goal is to eventually place dodos back into their natural habitats in Mauritius. The dodo has lived on in popular culture for centuries, most famously in Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," but only as a symbol of what humans have lost. Whether it will ever exist as anything more than that remains an open question.
Citations marquantes
The dodo is the world's best-known symbol of extinction caused by people. Bringing it back shows extinction doesn't have to be permanent.— Ben Lamm, CEO and co-founder of Colossal Biosciences
GenoMorph effectively acts as a 'treasure map' for the dodo genome, narrowing hundreds of thousands of possible genetic changes into the targets most likely to explain its iconic beak and facial structure.— Ben Lamm, describing the company's AI platform
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