Colossal Bioscience has put us directly to one of the greatest dangers of the modern scientific industry. The research community has managed to develop a sufficiently firm ethic to contain the curiosity of some scientists, but insufficient to stop the market. Colossal Bioscience He has not managed to de -order the giant wolves, but has captured the attention of a legion of potential clients willing to believe it. Those slightly modified gray wolves are a first step in a new market and it is not unreasonable to imagine that, if the legislation does not prevent it, In a few years we will see parks of synthetic animals already famous acquiring creatures to the letter.
A reality not so distant that arouses countless conflicts about animals rights, environmental conservation and technology limits. We do not need to imagine a Jurassic park, only its essence. Michael Crichton himself recognizes in his homonymous book that those reptiles that roamed on Isla Nublar were not dinosaurs as such. In its fiction, the DNA recovered from the mosquitoes trapped in amber had degraded and decided to fill the holes with DNA of other species. Híbidos designed to resemble the popular image of dinosaurs. What Colossal Bioscience offered so far is much less spectacular, but does not move much away from this concept focused on appearances.
The news came to the press this last April 7 and, although The first headlines “celebrated” the de -sexyction of the speciessome critical voices were soon.
Some articles decided to depart from the press release and question Colossal’s claims from the hand of experts in genetics and paleontology. Before the end of the week, popular perception had already completely turned, going from the celebration to scarge. The memes ran through the networks and the company lost the confidence of the general public Or, at least, from part. Because, despite everything there are a number of indisputable facts.
Strictly speaking, Colossal Bioscience has Analyzed DNA of two specimens of giant wolf (Aenocyon Dirus) and claim that it is 99.5% identical to that of the Gray Wolf. Thus, they have introduced 20 modifications in 14 of the genes of several embryos of gray wolf, have implanted them in the uterus of domestic dogs and have achieved three genetically modified puppies, two twins called romulus and romulus and a female to which they baptized as Khaleesi.
The images, indeed, show six -month wolves, with a white and dense fur, somewhat larger than the averagewith the elongated skull and that, at least as puppies, they had a peculiar howl. However, apart from a handful of photos and videos of the result, the company has not published its research, so (for now) the results of its DNA analysis and the success of the genetic edition lack scientific evidence. Scientific research is not communicated with biased and loaded press releases of value judgments, it is done through scientific publications. Communication to the general public is crucial, of course, but it comes later. Despite the many problems that the scientific publications system has, it is the best way to ensure the rigor of research. A scientific article must include every detail of the methods in a row, must expose all the results so that the reader judges for himself and, finally, must make an honest interpretation of the data.
If an investigation has not been published in an indexed scientific journal is just an opinion, and that is the case.
There are many scientists who want to see the data obtained by Colossal Bioscience, but the CEO Ben Lamm has pointed out that they focus on the de -sexyt and that academic publications are not their priority. A company policy as convenient as little scientific but who says they intend to do science? Recall that Colossal Bioscience has achieved a good part of its 10,000 million euros through famous patron, such as Peter Jackson, Paris Hilton, Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, Chris Hemsworth, Luke Hemsworth or Liam Hemsworth.
In fact, apart from really prepared scientists, among the advisors of Colossal Bioscience there are celebrities such as George Rr Martin, Kit Harrington and Sophie Turner. Figures well known for being, respectively, the writer and two of the main protagonists of “Game of Thrones.”
Fan Service refers to the elements of a product that have been added deliberately and unjustifiably to please a community of fans. Are the Lobos of Colossal Bioscience a marketing strategy to take advantage of the phenomenon that was “Game of Thrones”?
It is something that we cannot know, but there are details that invite us to think about the possibility. We can start with a quick look at the representations made by the paleoartists of the giant wolves. These reconstructions are based on scientific studies that take into account muscle insertions on bones, environmental context and an infinity of details that, although they do not provide certainties, are the best we have to imagine how those beasts in flesh and blood were.
Now, if we typed in Google “Huargo de Game de Thrones”, the Internet will return a myriad of Imargins disturbingly similar to Romulo, Remo and Khaleesi.
According to researchers, coloring, skull, fur and complexion are quite different. When the Chinese He Jiankui announced in 2018 that his investigations had given birth to the first two genetically modified people in history, the Academy condemned his work. That attempt to protect the twins Lulu and Nana in front of HIV was technically and ethically reprehensible.
Remember that a court in the city of Shenzhen sentenced him to three years in prison for genetically editing human embryos. Jiankui also had to pay a fine of three million yuan (almost 384,000 euros).
The scientist had announced in November 2018 that he had edited the genes of some twins to be resistant to HIV, but Xinhua added that three genetically modified babies were born from the experiment.
He also specified that he used CRISPR-CAS9 genetic editing technology, which allows scientists to basically cut and paste DNA.
The National Health Commission of China said that it was “very worried” and ordered the health authorities to investigate the case. For its part, the University of Science and Technology of Southern Shenzhen, where I had an associated chair, said he knew nothing about the project and that the researcher was in leave without salary.