A de-extinction company successfully hatches chicks using artificial egg technology

(SeaPRwire) –   A biotechnology firm focused on bringing back extinct species announced Tuesday it successfully hatched live chicks in a controlled, artificial setting. This achievement has drawn varied reactions from scientists and those critical of its de-extinction goals.

Colossal Biosciences reported that twenty-six young chickens, varying in age from a few days to several months, emerged from a 3D-printed lattice structure designed to replicate an eggshell.

Colossal had previously disclosed its success in genetically engineering living animals to mimic extinct species, such as mice with woolly mammoth-like long hair and wolf pups resembling dire wolves.

Ben Lamm, CEO of Colossal, stated that this artificial egg technology could eventually be expanded to genetically modify existing birds to resemble the extinct South Island giant moa of New Zealand, whose eggs are 80 times larger than a chicken’s and would pose a significant challenge for any contemporary bird to lay.

Lamm commented, “Our aim was to create something that nature has already perfected, but to enhance it, make it scalable, and even more efficient.”

According to independent scientists, while the technology is remarkable, it is missing certain elements to be genuinely classified as an artificial egg. They also suggested that the concept of resurrecting extinct animals is probably unfeasible.

Vincent Lynch, an evolutionary biologist at the University at Buffalo, remarked, “They might be able to employ this technology to produce a genetically modified bird, but that remains simply a genetically modified bird. It is not a moa.”

Colossal scientists facilitated the hatching by pouring fertilized eggs into the artificial system, then placing them in an incubator. They also supplemented with calcium, typically absorbed from the eggshell, and monitored the embryos’ development and growth in real-time.

Researchers indicate that Colossal has engineered an artificial eggshell featuring a membrane that permits the appropriate oxygen intake, mirroring a natural egg. However, other essential egg components, such as temporary organs that develop to nurture and stabilize the growing chick and eliminate waste, were absent.

Lynch clarified, “That isn’t an artificial egg because you’ve introduced all the other elements that constitute an egg. It’s an artificial eggshell.”

In previous decades, scientists utilized less refined methods to fashion transparent eggshells, from which chicks hatched using plastic films or sacs. These technologies prove valuable for studying chicken development and extracting knowledge applicable to other mammals and even humans.

Nicola Hemmings, a bird reproductive biologist at the University of Sheffield, who is not affiliated with the Colossal team, noted, “Generating a chick from an artificial container is not inherently novel.”

A significant journey lies ahead before Colossal can attempt to resurrect a moa using this artificial egg system. Scientists must first compare ancient DNA from well-preserved moa bones with the genomes of existing bird species. Furthermore, a larger eggshell would be required.

Lamm explained, “We chose not to wait until we were prepared to birth a giant moa. Instead, we aimed to begin addressing the engineering complexities of surrogacy and birth immediately.”

Should Colossal manage to create a tall bird resembling the moa, some scientists express apprehension about the subsequent challenges, particularly how such a creature would survive in an environment vastly different from its historical habitat.

Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, posed the critical question: “The major hurdle is, what environment will this animal inhabit?”

Hemmings suggested that de-extinction initiatives might be more logical for currently endangered species, where researchers could conserve sperm and egg cells from living individuals to try and increase their numbers.

Hemmings concluded, “My personal focus is more on conserving existing species rather than attempting to revive those that are already extinct.”

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