My view of the #deextinction hype, encapsulated below.
January 3, 2026 at 7:11 PM
My view of the #deextinction hype, encapsulated below.
Fantastic deëxtinction fiction vs #DeExtinction facts 🧪🐺🦤🦣
The wonderful people at the NZ Science Learning Hub have turned my talk on MythBusting de-extinction to sort fact from fiction into a freely available educational resource. You can check it out here www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/my...
Mythbusting de-extinction to sort fact from fiction
De-extinction hit the headlines recently with the ‘resurrection’ of the dire wolf and the push to bring back the moa. However, can scientists really bring back extinct animals? And more importantly, s...
www.sciencelearn.org.nz
November 18, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Fantastic deëxtinction fiction vs #DeExtinction facts 🧪🐺🦤🦣
I’ve warned that this was only a matter of time, but it’s still shocking to see in person.
Here AI generated content is being used to create a fake news ecosystem, disparaging a professor who has been critical of unscientific bullshit in the form of deextinction hype.
Here AI generated content is being used to create a fake news ecosystem, disparaging a professor who has been critical of unscientific bullshit in the form of deextinction hype.
Four AI-generated "articles" have now disparaged me, "Colleagues and experts in the field have expressed concerns about the consistency and scientific integrity of his work"
gripeo.com/02/vincent-l...
gripeo.com/02/vincent-l...
June 13, 2025 at 12:44 AM
I’ve warned that this was only a matter of time, but it’s still shocking to see in person.
Here AI generated content is being used to create a fake news ecosystem, disparaging a professor who has been critical of unscientific bullshit in the form of deextinction hype.
Here AI generated content is being used to create a fake news ecosystem, disparaging a professor who has been critical of unscientific bullshit in the form of deextinction hype.
Turns out you can't necessarily trust the obviously misleading statements Colossal have been spouting about #deextinction
May 23, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Turns out you can't necessarily trust the obviously misleading statements Colossal have been spouting about #deextinction
You all know I'm a vocal critic of #ColossalBio and Ben Lamm for their deëxtinction #DisInformation, annoying y'all in the process! But I also give credit where credit is due, and a vaccine for EEHV is a *big* deal; Ceterum (autem) censeo deëxtinction esse delendam
cincinnatizoo.org/groundbreaki...
cincinnatizoo.org/groundbreaki...
Groundbreaking Vaccine Helps Young Elephants at Cincinnati Zoo Overcome Deadly Virus - Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
cincinnatizoo.org
July 22, 2025 at 2:14 PM
You all know I'm a vocal critic of #ColossalBio and Ben Lamm for their deëxtinction #DisInformation, annoying y'all in the process! But I also give credit where credit is due, and a vaccine for EEHV is a *big* deal; Ceterum (autem) censeo deëxtinction esse delendam
cincinnatizoo.org/groundbreaki...
cincinnatizoo.org/groundbreaki...
Evergreen #DeExtinction wisdom from @ToriHerridge
Always worth remembering, even if ‘successful’, it won’t be a dodo.
Success will be something that meets a set of criteria. An approximation.
And no one really knows what a dodo looked like. Or how it behaved.
So it will a bit of biofantasy, and —if released— an environmental experiment.
Success will be something that meets a set of criteria. An approximation.
And no one really knows what a dodo looked like. Or how it behaved.
So it will a bit of biofantasy, and —if released— an environmental experiment.
March 1, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Evergreen #DeExtinction wisdom from @ToriHerridge
I see we’re doing deextinction discourse again, I’ll bite!
Genotypes (DNA variation) alone do not make a phenotype (how bodies look, function, behave).
Even if we reproduced an extinct genome, that animal doesn’t necessarily have the developmental context and learned culture of the extinct species
Genotypes (DNA variation) alone do not make a phenotype (how bodies look, function, behave).
Even if we reproduced an extinct genome, that animal doesn’t necessarily have the developmental context and learned culture of the extinct species
It's not a dire wolf. It's a gray wolf clone with 20 dire-wolf gene edits, and with some dire wolf traits. And here's my story! Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/s...
April 8, 2025 at 12:43 AM
I see we’re doing deextinction discourse again, I’ll bite!
Genotypes (DNA variation) alone do not make a phenotype (how bodies look, function, behave).
Even if we reproduced an extinct genome, that animal doesn’t necessarily have the developmental context and learned culture of the extinct species
Genotypes (DNA variation) alone do not make a phenotype (how bodies look, function, behave).
Even if we reproduced an extinct genome, that animal doesn’t necessarily have the developmental context and learned culture of the extinct species
Ou alors, on attend qu'ils soient éteints et on CRISPR et bim dééxtinction
This is what a critically endangered Red Wolf looks like. If we work together, we can save them 🐺
nywolf.org
nywolf.org
April 10, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Ou alors, on attend qu'ils soient éteints et on CRISPR et bim dééxtinction
Updated a broken link in my substack post about the
#ColossalBio #DeExtinction #DisInformation campaign – dire wolves are still extinct.
open.substack.com/pub/devoevom...
#ColossalBio #DeExtinction #DisInformation campaign – dire wolves are still extinct.
open.substack.com/pub/devoevom...
The Extinction of Truth
Or, a Colossal Pile of Bullshit
open.substack.com
June 12, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Updated a broken link in my substack post about the
#ColossalBio #DeExtinction #DisInformation campaign – dire wolves are still extinct.
open.substack.com/pub/devoevom...
#ColossalBio #DeExtinction #DisInformation campaign – dire wolves are still extinct.
open.substack.com/pub/devoevom...
A sad consequence of all this deëxtinction nonsense is that this lovely story about what the dodo really looked like and art and science has to include a discussion of #ColossalBio and deëxtinction 🦤 🧪
July 16, 2025 at 7:48 PM
A sad consequence of all this deëxtinction nonsense is that this lovely story about what the dodo really looked like and art and science has to include a discussion of #ColossalBio and deëxtinction 🦤 🧪
#ColossalBio Investors; Scientists watching the #ColossalBio #DeExtinction #DisInformation campaign sap resources and mislead the public…
January 15, 2026 at 1:26 PM
#ColossalBio Investors; Scientists watching the #ColossalBio #DeExtinction #DisInformation campaign sap resources and mislead the public…
The New Yorker is loving this dire wolf story because it affords them multiple opportunities to use the word ‘deëxtinction’.
April 8, 2025 at 11:25 AM
The New Yorker is loving this dire wolf story because it affords them multiple opportunities to use the word ‘deëxtinction’.
Now this is how #DeExtinction is done. These are "Lazarus species" in my taxonomy of the dead.
March 5, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Now this is how #DeExtinction is done. These are "Lazarus species" in my taxonomy of the dead.
I've written a Substack about the #ColossalBioSci #DeExtinction #DisInformation campaign; it's focused on polluting the information landscape, rather than the underlying science (except for species concepts, I talk about them)
open.substack.com/pub/devoevom...
open.substack.com/pub/devoevom...
The Extinction of Truth
Or, a Colossal Pile of Bullshit
open.substack.com
May 13, 2025 at 7:20 PM
I've written a Substack about the #ColossalBioSci #DeExtinction #DisInformation campaign; it's focused on polluting the information landscape, rather than the underlying science (except for species concepts, I talk about them)
open.substack.com/pub/devoevom...
open.substack.com/pub/devoevom...
Screaming to the abyss: #ColossalBio did not resurrect the dire wolf and they're probably just going to make an antelope with methemoglobinemia to give it a bluish color. Their #DeExtinction #DisInformation campaign is just a pyramid scheme because #ExtinctionIsForever 🧪
April 30, 2026 at 2:12 PM
Screaming to the abyss: #ColossalBio did not resurrect the dire wolf and they're probably just going to make an antelope with methemoglobinemia to give it a bluish color. Their #DeExtinction #DisInformation campaign is just a pyramid scheme because #ExtinctionIsForever 🧪
Re-upping given the moa deëxtinction nonsense from #ColossalBio and it’s cofounder Ben Lamm, it’s nominally about dire wolf “deëxtinction” but applies just as well to moas
substack.com/inbox/post/1...
substack.com/inbox/post/1...
The Extinction of Truth
Or, a Colossal Pile of Bullshit
substack.com
July 9, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Re-upping given the moa deëxtinction nonsense from #ColossalBio and it’s cofounder Ben Lamm, it’s nominally about dire wolf “deëxtinction” but applies just as well to moas
substack.com/inbox/post/1...
substack.com/inbox/post/1...
The dire wolf has NOT been brought back from extinction
Colossal Biosciences just edited a few genes in a gray wolf to make it superficially look like a dire wolf
It has repeatedly made fraudulent deextinction claims about other species to raise investor money and the media falls for it EVERY TIME
Colossal Biosciences just edited a few genes in a gray wolf to make it superficially look like a dire wolf
It has repeatedly made fraudulent deextinction claims about other species to raise investor money and the media falls for it EVERY TIME
April 9, 2025 at 3:45 PM
The dire wolf has NOT been brought back from extinction
Colossal Biosciences just edited a few genes in a gray wolf to make it superficially look like a dire wolf
It has repeatedly made fraudulent deextinction claims about other species to raise investor money and the media falls for it EVERY TIME
Colossal Biosciences just edited a few genes in a gray wolf to make it superficially look like a dire wolf
It has repeatedly made fraudulent deextinction claims about other species to raise investor money and the media falls for it EVERY TIME
Re-upping in case any of my new, or old, followers want to know what I think about all this #DeExtinction #DisInformation from #ColossalBio re dire wolves
So-called Dire wolves and endangered red wolves
The ethical implications of de-extinction and genetic engineering in conservation with Dr Vincent Lynch @devoevomed.bsky.social
full conversation on these topics see on
YouTube: youtube.com/live/C9_gJ6_...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/1T0H...
The ethical implications of de-extinction and genetic engineering in conservation with Dr Vincent Lynch @devoevomed.bsky.social
full conversation on these topics see on
YouTube: youtube.com/live/C9_gJ6_...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/1T0H...
June 9, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Re-upping in case any of my new, or old, followers want to know what I think about all this #DeExtinction #DisInformation from #ColossalBio re dire wolves
The only deextinction project I will wholeheartedly support
Whilst the Australian drop bear might be mythical, it seems that Australia was once home to the "drop croc"... an extinct clade of crocodile that could have climbed trees to then drop on their unsuspecting prey below
#ausreptiles #wildoz #paleontology #fossils #crocodile
www.bbc.com/news/article...
#ausreptiles #wildoz #paleontology #fossils #crocodile
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Evidence of ancient tree-climbing 'drop crocs' found in Australia
Scientists say the crocodiles hunted like leopards by climbing trees and killing prey below.
www.bbc.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:37 AM
The only deextinction project I will wholeheartedly support
🧵🐺🧬 An important point is getting lost in the discussion abt today's "deextinction" news: Colossal is not just claiming to have created something akin to a dire wolf. They claim they've made new/unpublished genetic discoveries that would rewrite our understanding of dire wolf evolution & anatomy 🧪
April 7, 2025 at 9:28 PM
🧵🐺🧬 An important point is getting lost in the discussion abt today's "deextinction" news: Colossal is not just claiming to have created something akin to a dire wolf. They claim they've made new/unpublished genetic discoveries that would rewrite our understanding of dire wolf evolution & anatomy 🧪
We’re still getting cloned mammoths in 2028, right?
Right?
#mammoth #colossal #deextinction #coproliteposting
Right?
#mammoth #colossal #deextinction #coproliteposting
March 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
We’re still getting cloned mammoths in 2028, right?
Right?
#mammoth #colossal #deextinction #coproliteposting
Right?
#mammoth #colossal #deextinction #coproliteposting
Now, we all saw that Time Cover last April and the ecstatic headlines round the world. But “DeExtinction” is marketing.
There are innovations in genetics that have the potential to help protect threatened species that are still living.
But once lost, a species is lost forever. #2026MMM
There are innovations in genetics that have the potential to help protect threatened species that are still living.
But once lost, a species is lost forever. #2026MMM
March 17, 2026 at 12:00 AM
Now, we all saw that Time Cover last April and the ecstatic headlines round the world. But “DeExtinction” is marketing.
There are innovations in genetics that have the potential to help protect threatened species that are still living.
But once lost, a species is lost forever. #2026MMM
There are innovations in genetics that have the potential to help protect threatened species that are still living.
But once lost, a species is lost forever. #2026MMM
TLDR, while #Deextinction didn’t happen the #hype, #fraud, #DarkPR and #Disinformation campaigns very much did 🧪 🐺
My look back at a year of claims about deextinction that didn't live up to the hype. No, the dire wolf is not back from the dead 🧪
Featuring @toriherridge.bsky.social @devoevomed.bsky.social @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social and @grenyer.bsky.social
www.newscientist.com/article/2505...
Featuring @toriherridge.bsky.social @devoevomed.bsky.social @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social and @grenyer.bsky.social
www.newscientist.com/article/2505...
De-extinction was big news in 2025 – but didn't live up to the hype
Biologists poured cold water on Colossal Biosciences’ claim to have brought the dire wolf back from extinction, and some worry the overblown headlines will undermine conservation work
www.newscientist.com
December 15, 2025 at 12:59 PM
TLDR, while #Deextinction didn’t happen the #hype, #fraud, #DarkPR and #Disinformation campaigns very much did 🧪 🐺
slapping genes from an extinct animal with those of a living animal isn't deextinction, it's creating a new hybrid, but deextinction sounds scifi jurassic park, which is why the bullshit media keeps peddling it
April 9, 2025 at 6:04 AM
slapping genes from an extinct animal with those of a living animal isn't deextinction, it's creating a new hybrid, but deextinction sounds scifi jurassic park, which is why the bullshit media keeps peddling it
This feels not particularly useful for deëxtinction
April 7, 2025 at 4:44 PM
This feels not particularly useful for deëxtinction