US company announces progress toward resurrecting the extinct dodo

Dallas-based biotech company Colossal Biosciences is making strides toward the ambitious goal of resurrecting the dodo, a flightless bird from the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius that humans drove to extinction in the 17th century. The company has employed an advanced AI platform called GenoMorph to pinpoint genetic modifications that may have led to the dodo's distinctive craniofacial traits.

Colossal is planning to introduce these traits into the cells of its closest living relative, the Nicobar pigeon, which is known for its green and copper feathers and can fly. The dodo was a ground-nesting bird that exhibited no fear of humans, leading to its downfall after humans arrived on Mauritius. Colossal's CEO and co-founder, Ben Lamm, emphasized that bringing the dodo back to life demonstrates that extinction is not permanent.

The company is currently in the final stages of analyzing the dodo genome, which is now 95% complete.