Colossal Biosciences CEO Ben Lamm is leading a high-profile biotech effort aimed at using genetic engineering and de-extinction technologies to bring back traits of the woolly mammoth. The company, valued at an estimated multi-billion-dollar scale, is applying CRISPR-based gene editing and synthetic biology tools to modify Asian elephant DNA to express mammoth-like characteristics such as cold resistance and thick hair. The project represents one of the most ambitious applications of conservation genetics and synthetic biology, while also raising scientific, ethical, and ecological questions about de-extinction.
