The biotech company Colossal Biosciences created three genetically engineered canids it presented as 'dire wolves'—males Romulus and Remus, born in October 2024, and female Khaleesi, born in January 2025—by making 20 DNA changes to gray-wolf genes.
Notes on verification
Multiple independent, reputable sources (CNN, Time, Al Jazeera, Wikipedia) corroborate the names, sexes, birth dates, and the 20 gene-edit claim. The 'dire wolf' labeling itself is scientifically contested, but that is a separate interpretive issue from the factual details verified here. [cascade flags: wikipedia_dropped_other_sources_exist | tier=silver indep_score=0.833 clusters=3 claim_tier=exceptional]
Sources
- The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2025, From Medical ... (seed:science_and_space)
- https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/07/science/dire-wolf-de-extinction-cloning-colossal (corroboration)
- https://time.com/7274542/colossal-dire-wolf/ (corroboration)
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/8/has-the-dire-wolf-come-back-to-life-here-is-what-we-know (corroboration)