The intersection of cutting-edge genetic science and environmental conservation is creating ripples that could soon turn into economic waves. Colossal Biosciences, the Texas-based de-extinction company now valued at $10.2 billion, is pioneering technologies extending far beyond extinct species’ resurrection — its innovations address critical biodiversity challenges that threaten global financial stability.
Colossal’s recent breakthrough with the woolly mouse demonstrates how precise genetic editing can engineer traits like hair length, texture, and color. This development showcases seven total edits to a mouse genome using three distinct genetic editing technologies: RNP-mediated knockout, multiplex precision, and precision homology-directed repair.
The science behind these modifications carries profound implications. The World Economic Forum estimates that half of global GDP — $44 trillion — is somewhat dependent on nature and predicts that biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse could cause a decline in global GDP of $2.7 trillion annually by 2030.
These concerns aren’t theoretical. Research published in November 2024 found that exposure to biodiversity risk was associated with an average 3.2% decrease in return on assets. Companies with greater biodiversity risk exposure may be compelled to maintain substantial capital reserves to ensure operational continuity, potentially undercutting firm efficiency.
Colossal and the Woolly Mammoth Baby Discovery: Accelerating De-Extinction
Recent discoveries have significantly accelerated the timeline for the company’s de-extinction efforts. December 2024 marked the unveiling of Yana, a woolly mammoth baby found in eastern Siberia’s Batagaika crater. This 50,000-year-old specimen stands just 4 feet tall, weighs 400 pounds, and represents one of only seven baby mammoth carcasses ever found.
The remarkable preservation of this mammoth specimen is the result of a fascinating natural phenomenon. When these ancient creatures perished, Siberia’s extreme cold and dry conditions caused their tissues to rapidly dehydrate. This process led to the formation of what scientists call chromoglass — a unique state where DNA becomes locked in place, much like molecules in glass.
Unlike a neatly arranged crystal, chromoglass is rigid yet disordered at a microscopic level. The densely packed DNA fragments become trapped in a molecular traffic jam, unable to move even over thousands of years. This unusual preservation method helps explain how ancient genetic material can remain intact for millennia, offering scientists an extraordinary window into the past.
This preservation method has allowed researchers at Colossal to conduct detailed genetic analysis at the nanometer scale. Using advanced GPU computing and high-throughput chromosome conformation capture, scientists can now map the exact positions of genes and regulatory elements within the mammoth genome, providing unprecedented insights into how these creatures adapted to harsh environments.
In the summer of 2024, researchers announced another groundbreaking find: a 52,000-year-old mammoth specimen that allowed scientists to reconstruct the complete three-dimensional structure of mammoth chromosomes for the first time. These discoveries provide essential information for the company’s ambitious de-extinction projects.
The question “Why did the woolly mammoth go extinct?” has direct relevance to modern economic challenges.
Why Economics Need Cold Adaptation
The extinction of the woolly mammoth was driven by a combination of human activity and significant environmental changes at the end of the last ice age. As global temperatures rose by about 11 degrees Fahrenheit over thousands of years, the permafrost grasslands that once supported mammoth herds began disappearing. A study from St John’s College, University of Cambridge, analyzed ancient Arctic plant and animal remains and found that rising temperatures and increased precipitation transformed the mammoth steppe into forests and wetlands.
This shift replaced the mammoths’ primary food sources with vegetation they couldn’t easily digest. While human hunting may have accelerated their decline, the dramatic loss of suitable habitat was likely the primary factor in their extinction. The changing ecosystem could no longer sustain the large herds, leading to their gradual disappearance from the landscape.
Research indicates that the mammoth’s extinction contributed to environmental changes that continue to affect our planet today. A woolly mammoth found in permafrost often retains soft tissue, organs, and DNA, providing crucial biological insights that extend beyond academic interest.
According to a study, the arctic permafrost is currently thawing and is projected to release between 119.3 and 251.6 billion tons of carbon by 2100. Ben Lamm, CEO and co-founder of Colossal, noted that research indicates that growing the population of large herbivores such as the mammoth could compact snow and lower ground surface temperatures, helping to preserve the permafrost.
Colossal’s $200 million Series C funding announced on Jan. 15 brought the total raised since its 2021 launch to $435 million, with a new valuation making it Texas’s first decacorn — a unicorn company worth at least $10 billion. This investment fuels the expansion of laboratories and advances in computational biology, cellular engineering, genetic engineering, embryology, and animal husbandry.
The company’s work extends beyond mammoths. Its research is helping combat elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus, which can cause a hemorrhagic disease that’s the single largest cause of death in young elephants in North America, Europe, and Thailand. In collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine, the company provided research support and funding for a vaccine being tested on elephants at the Houston Zoo.
“If we are able to cure, or at least prevent, EEHV across the three major strains, it could save more elephants than all of elephant conservation combined for the past 50 years,” Lamm explained.
With de-extinction efforts on track to produce the first mammoths for rewilding by 2028, Colossal’s pioneering technologies that address biodiversity threats while creating new economic opportunities. Its artificial womb technology — on track to grow the first animal fully ex-utero by 2026 — could revolutionize conservation efforts.
“Imagine a world where we are growing 100 northern white rhinos fully ex-utero in the lab and then working with rewilding partners to put them back into their environment,” stated Lamm. “I think that could change the game because then, for conservation, you won’t have a need for surrogacy.”
The company’s nonprofit arm, the Colossal Foundation, supports 48 partners, including BioRescue, Re:wild, and Save the Elephants. This comprehensive biodiversity protection approach addresses multiple economic risk dimensions — physical, regulatory, and reputational.
The company recognizes that the science that brings us closer to seeing a woolly mammoth coming back also brings us closer to a more sustainable economic future — one where technological innovation and natural systems reinforce rather than undermine each other.