Could Making a New Woolly Mammoth Help Human Health?

Bold Names

The Wall Street Journal

Technology

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 3 January 2025

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Colossal Biosciences wants to create new animals that resemble extinct creatures like the woolly mammoth, thanks to advancements in genetic engineering and synthetic biology. In this conversation from the WSJ’s Future of Everything Festival in May 2024, Colossal Biosciences co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm discusses how the de-extinction of species could help address the loss of biodiversity and benefit ecosystems. He tells Future of Everything editorial director Stefanie Ilgenfritz about his plans for monetizing the technology, and how it could be used for human health. What do you think about the show? Let us know on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or email us: [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free The Future of Everything newsletter. Further reading: Return of the Woolly Mammoth? Doctors Can Now Edit the Genes Inside Your Body How Ancient Hunters Felled Massive Mammoths and Hungry Predators Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This Sunday, old rivals go head to head as Liverpool take on Manchester United at Anfield.
0:07.4	Can you believe it?
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0:14.9	Absolutely brilliant.
0:16.8	Stream Liverpool versus Manchester United, live this Sunday from 4.30 p.m. head to nowtv.com.
0:26.1	18 plus sky sports content streamed via internet. Full terms apply.
0:32.1	It's been at least 4,000 years since the last woolly mammoths went extinct.
0:37.1	But the idea of these relatives to
0:39.3	modern-day elephants looms large, especially for the biotech company, colossal biosciences.
0:46.3	It's not just like Jurassic Parky, it's also a little bit Indiana Jonesy where we've got
0:51.5	incredible folks who have actually gone out into the field and found
0:54.8	frozen mammoths. Ben Lamb is the company's co-founder. He wants to genetically engineer and
1:01.0	rewild new hybrid species that resemble extinct animals, like the Tasmanian tiger, the dodo,
1:07.6	and, of course, the woolly mammoth. You have to innovate across genome engineering, synthetic biology,
1:14.4	embryology, animal husbandry, even artificial wombs.
1:17.8	But many of those technologies are usable today.
1:20.7	But could this technology Lam's company is developing
1:23.0	also lead to innovations in human health?
1:26.7	From the Wall Street Journal, this is the Future of Everything.
1:29.3	I'm Danny Lewis.
1:31.3	Today, we're bringing you Future of Everything editorial director
1:34.3	Stephanie Ilgenfritz's conversation with Ben Lamb from the
	...

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