Resurrecting dire wolves is just the beginning for Colossal Biosciences’ Ben Lamm
In this encore episode of Rapid Response, we revisit a scientific breakthrough that set the internet ablaze: The ‘de-extinction’ of the dire wolf. While many celebrated Colossal Biosciences’ announcement, the experiment also sparked controversy throughout the scientific community — namely the ethics of birthing and re-wilding extinct animals, and whether Colossal’s dire wolf puppies are the real thing. Colossal’s co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm joined host Bob Safian to take us inside the dire wolf journey, revealing how the startup attracted a roster of celebrity investors, and what the company’s technology means for not only conservation and biodiversity, but potentially the future of human health.
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The Story: From Woolly Mice to De-Extinction w/ Ben Lamm
Ben Lamm is an entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Colossal Biosciences. That's the genetic engineering company making headlines for its bold mission – bringing extinct species back to life. From dire wolf pups to woolly mice, Colossal’s breakthroughs have sparked awe and controversy. Lamm sits down with Oz to unpack the science behind de-extinction, the ethical questions it raises, and what it could mean for the future of conservation.
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EP 141 Ben Lamm (Founder & CEO, Colossal Biosciences) On The Breakthroughs Making De-Extinction Actually Possible
Ben Lamm, founder and CEO of Colossal Biosciences, joined the show to talk about the science (and business) of bringing extinct species back to life. Backed by top scientists and investors, Colossal is using advanced gene editing and synthetic biology to recreate animals like the woolly mammoth and dire wolf. Ben walks us through the technology, ethical considerations, and commercialization paths, including tech spinouts and conservation credits. It’s a wild conversation at the intersection of Jurassic Park and deep tech.
#394 — Bringing Back the Mammoth
Sam Harris speaks with Ben Lamm about his work at Colossal Biosciences. They discuss his efforts to de-extinct the woolly mammoth, the Tasmanian tiger, and the dodo; the difference between Colossal's approach and Jurassic Park; the details of resurrecting the mammoth; the relevance of this work to human health; the role of artificial intelligence; reintroducing mammoths, Tasmanian tigers, and dodos back into the wild; the environmental and business case for de-extinction; and other topics.
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The Man Bringing Extinct Creatures Back To Life - Ben Lamm - #681
Ben Lamm is an entrepreneur, CEO of Colossal and a founder.
What if Jurassic Park's dream of bringing extinct creatures back to life was possible? Well it kind of is. And Ben's company is forging ahead in the new frontier of de-extinction, starting with some of the most legendary animals from history.
Expect to learn why Ben is bringing Wooly Mammoths back to life, how you give birth to an animal that died out thousands of years ago, where Ben gets the genetic material from, how bringing back Mammoths could fix climate change, whether artificial wombs will actually work, if we can make humans as strong as Neanderthals using their DNA, why we should bring back the Dodo bird and much more...
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Timestamps:
(00:00) Ben’s Wild Plan to Fix Global Warming
(02:46) How to Extract Ancient DNA
(09:40) Making a Mammoth a Reality from DNA
(22:55) What Could Go Wrong?
(30:55) What Else Would Ben Like to Bring Back?
(37:37) Why Mammoths Went Extinct
(42:50) How Mammoths Are Useful to the Planet
(52:07) Can Genetically-Created Mammoths Reproduce Naturally?
(54:10) What Does this Mean for Human Advancement?
(58:52) The Ethics of Genetic Enhancement
(1:09:20) Where to Find Ben
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