In a scientific development that feels straight out of science fiction, Colossal Biosciences, a Dallas-based biotechnology company, has announced a major step toward resurrecting the extinct dodo bird. On September 18, 2025, the company revealed it had successfully grown pigeon primordial germ cells in the laboratory—a breakthrough that could pave the way for bringing the dodo back to life after more than three centuries lost to history. According to The Economic Times, this achievement marks a crucial gateway for breeding future generations of birds, which, unlike mammals, cannot be cloned in the traditional sense.
Colossal’s ambitious de-extinction project hinges on gene-editing the Nicobar pigeon, the dodo’s closest living relative. The plan is to insert these gene-edited germ cells into chicken surrogates. By using Crispr technology, the resulting birds could eventually possess the dodo’s distinctive traits: its hefty body, large head, and, perhaps, even its famously ungainly walk. If all goes as planned, the company aims to breed not just a handful, but thousands of dodos, ensuring enough genetic diversity to create a thriving wild population.
“This isn’t 20 years away. Rough ballpark, we think it’s still five to seven years out,” Colossal’s chief executive Ben Lamm told The Guardian. He emphasized the company’s vision: “We’re not looking to make two dodos. We want thousands, with enough genetic diversity that they can thrive in the wild.” Conservation partners are already on the ground in Mauritius, scouting for rat-free sites where these birds might one day roam again. For Lamm and his team, the dodo’s return is not a distant fantasy but a tangible goal within the next decade.
The dodo’s story is a cautionary tale of human-driven extinction. Once described by Dutch sailors as a “very big goose,” this large, flightless, fruit-eating bird vanished by the 1660s. The last reliable sighting was recorded in 1662. Its demise was swift, fueled by relentless hunting, habitat destruction, and the introduction of invasive species like pigs, macaques, and rats, which feasted on the dodo’s eggs. Over time, the dodo became a symbol of irreversible loss—a byword for extinction itself.
Now, however, science is offering a second chance. Beth Shapiro, Colossal’s lead scientist, called the company’s germ-cell breakthrough “super exciting,” but she cautioned that any reintroduction would need to be gradual and carefully monitored. “If we can put back a large, ground-dwelling fruit-eating bird, we don’t know all the consequences of restoring them to this landscape,” she said, as quoted in The Economic Times. “But we anticipate some happy surprises.”
Colossal’s momentum is backed by serious funding and star power. The company recently secured a $120 million funding extension, bringing its total capital raised to $555 million and boosting its valuation to $10.3 billion. High-profile investors include filmmaker Peter Jackson, golf legend Tiger Woods, football star Tom Brady, and entrepreneur Paris Hilton. Jackson, in particular, has voiced his support for the company’s plan to revive not just the dodo, but also the moa, a giant bird that once inhabited New Zealand.
The new capital will help establish a dedicated avian research center in Texas, as reported by Bloomberg. Other notable investors in this funding round include the US Innovative Technology Fund and Robert Nelsen, co-founder of ARCH Venture Partners. Colossal’s ambitions extend beyond the dodo; the company is also working on projects to revive the woolly mammoth and has engineered a “woolly mouse” as part of that program. In a nod to pop culture, it recently announced the birth of three dire wolf pups, reviving an Ice Age predator made famous by the television series Game of Thrones.
The company’s research has also led to commercial spin-offs. One venture focused on plastic-waste degradation raised $10.5 million last year, while a software offshoot has already attracted $40 million. Looking to the future, Lamm and co-founder George Church, a Harvard geneticist, are quietly developing a new startup called Astromech. This venture, which has raised $30 million, aims to combine artificial intelligence and robotics to study how species evolve—from cancer resistance in elephants to the mysteries of long-extinct animals.
Colossal’s meteoric rise and headline-grabbing projects have sparked both excitement and debate. Conservationists warn that reviving extinct animals could disrupt existing ecosystems or divert resources from protecting endangered species that are still with us. According to The Guardian, Lamm counters this criticism by arguing that the technologies developed for de-extinction will ultimately help conserve biodiversity and restore ecological balance. “Our goal is to return species not as curiosities, but as functioning parts of their ecosystems,” he said.
While Colossal’s work on the dodo is making waves, another recent scientific discovery is shedding light on the evolutionary history of flightless birds. On September 17, 2025, a study led by Klara Widrig of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History revealed that the ancestors of the palaeognath family—which includes ostriches, emus, cassowaries, kiwis, and rheas—were actually capable of flight. As reported by AFP, this finding helps explain how these birds managed to spread across multiple continents despite their current inability to fly. The only living palaeognath that can fly today is the tinamou, and even it is limited to short distances.
For years, scientists puzzled over the global distribution of these flightless birds. Some hypothesized that their ancestors became separated when the supercontinent Gondwana broke apart around 160 million years ago. However, genetic research now shows that the evolutionary splits between palaeognath species happened long after the continents had already drifted apart. This means their ancestors must have been able to fly, traversing vast oceanic distances before eventually losing the ability to take wing.
These two scientific stories—one about resurrecting a bird lost to extinction, the other about uncovering the airborne past of birds now grounded—highlight the rapidly evolving field of avian research. They also underscore humanity’s shifting relationship with the natural world: from causing extinctions to seeking redemption through technology, and from pondering ancient mysteries to rewriting the story of life on Earth.
For now, the dodo remains a symbol of what was lost. But if Colossal Biosciences and its partners succeed, the forests of Mauritius may one day once again echo with the tread of this unforgettable bird, while new discoveries continue to reshape our understanding of avian evolution around the globe.
