Could woolly mammoths be revived in North Dakota? This ‘de-extinction’ company thinks so

FARGO — North Dakota is positioning to play a role in bringing back long-extinct species like the woolly mammoth and dodo bird as a company on a mission makes plans to come to the state.

Colossal Biosciences

is planning to establish a presence in North Dakota, drawn by its “business-friendly environment,” emerging biotechnology sector and a northern climate that offers suitable habitat for species like the woolly mammoth.

The North Dakota Development Fund, an investment vehicle for the North Dakota Department of Commerce to promote economic development, has made a $3 million equity investment in Texas-based Colossal Biosciences.

“North Dakota is really interesting for our future,” Ben Lamm, Colossal Biosciences’ CEO, told The Forum. “There’s a lot of really great reasons why North Dakota should be a hub for us.”

North Dakota’s northern latitude and comparatively chilly climate is a big draw, Lamm said.

“We don’t plan to do any animal husbandry around Dallas or Boston,” two cities where the company has a major presence, he said, whereas North Dakota has ample grassland and favorable weather.

“Our long-term goal is rewilding species,” a term for reintroducing extinct species to their native habitats, Lamm said. “We want to make North Dakota part of our framework of states that can be helpful with that.”

Of particular interest to the company are a woolly mammoth tusk and bones recently found at a lignite mine in North Dakota owned by North American Coal. The fossils are in the paleontology laboratory at the North Dakota Heritage Center for restoration and preservation work.

Lamm viewed the specimens while in Bismarck, which he said include a well-preserved tusk, some ribs, a femur and shoulder bones.

“There was some tissue that was found with them, as I understand it,” he said. “It’s in great condition.”

He credited the crew from North American Coal’s Coteau Mine, which found the five-foot tusk while digging in predawn darkness and immediately stopped work so the specimen could be excavated and preserved.

Teams were immediately dispatched to evaluate the discovery, which Lamm said was “awesome.”

North American Coal wasn’t immediately available to comment on the find, which was confirmed by Josh Teigen, North Dakota’s commerce commissioner.

DNA can be collected from teeth and certain bones, as well as well-preserved tissue.

“We aren’t going to raise mammoths in Texas,” Lamm said. “We have to have other locations.”

Colossal Biosciences is working with the University of Alaska in Fairbanks on mammoth education. DNA specimens from mammoths come predominantly from Siberia.

“There hasn’t been enough research, in my opinion, in North America,” Lamm said, including a population genome map that perhaps could include specimens from North Dakota.

North Dakota is a “super business-friendly state,” Lamm said, adding, “There’s a lot that the state has to offer.”

The North Dakota Development Fund, whose board unanimously approved the $3 million investment on Aug. 22, joined investors that include major venture capital firms, as well as celebrities.

Celebrity investors include Paris Hilton, Tony Robbins and actor-brothers Chris, Liam and Luke Hemsworth. The CIA’s venture capital arm, In-Q-Tel, also is an investor.

As of January, the most recent public figures available, Colossal Biosciences had raised at least $225 million from investors.

Last year,

Colossal invested $30 million to spin off an independent company, Form Bio,

which combines software specialists, life scientists and data scientists.

The technologies Colossal Biosciences is using to bring back extinct species also can be used for species preservation and applied to genetic medicine, Lamm said.

“We are expanding and pushing the boundaries on genetic engineering and synthetic biology, and a lot of that has implications for human health care,” he said.

Although Lamm said he is optimistic humans will do a better job of ensuring the survival of threatened species, he said Colossal Biosciences is working with collaborators to step in, if necessary.

“Right now, we’re on a path to lose 50% of all biodiversity between now and 2050,” he said.

As part of its species preservation “backup plan,” Colossal is collecting cell lines, tissue samples, sperm and eggs and performing full genetic sequencing and population studies of endangered species.

The deal with Colossal Biosciences gives North Dakota an exciting opportunity to be involved in resurrecting extinct species and helping to restore ecosystems, Teigen said.

“We also like the return potential and economic potential to the state,” he said. “I think it’s hard to say what the future will look like.”

The partnership with Colossal Biosciences stands out among companies North Dakota has recruited to the state, he said.

“I think it’s the most unusual, most unique,” Teigen said, adding it will help draw attention to what North Dakota has to offer. “Any time you’re at the cutting edge of innovation, there’s going to be some curiosity there.”

Colossal Biosciences’ presence in North Dakota will help to highlight the state’s emerging biotechnology sector, which includes firms such as Aldevron, Genovac and Agothos, all based in Fargo, he said.

“There’s an incredible biotech sector here,” Lamm said.

Investor Kevin O’Leary of “Shark Tank”

fame played the role of matchmaker by putting the North Dakota Department of Commerce in touch with Colossal Biosciences, Teigen said. O’Leary oversees Wonder Fund North Dakota, a program that consists of $45 million in taxpayer dollars to invest in growing businesses based in the state.

Lamm, an entrepreneur who has a background in computer technology including artificial intelligence, joined forces with co-founder George Church, a pioneer in using what’s called the CRISPR cell- and gene-editing tool, to form Colossal Biosciences, based in Dallas.

After launching in 2021, Colossal Biosciences announced plans to bring back the extinct woolly mammoth and Tasmanian tiger.

The pair launched the venture after Lamm met with Church, a geneticist at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute, where he leads synthetic biology research. Church is a professor at both Harvard and MIT, as well as a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Methods for reading and writing DNA are helping make Earth a healthier place to live, medically and environmentally,” Church said in a statement earlier this year.

“Genetic technologies are already protecting us and our food sources from infectious and inherited diseases,” he said. “A society embracing endangered and extinct gene variants is one poised to address many practical obstacles and opportunities in carbon sequestration, nutrition and new materials. I am pleased with our company’s progress across multiple vertebrate species.”

Church is credited with creating the first direct genomic sequencing method in the 1980s and later helped launch the Human Genome Project. That project identified, mapped and sequenced all the genes of the human genome and is widely regarded as one of the greatest scientific feats in history.

Teigen first met Church a decade ago, visiting him in his office, where he said it was scientifically possible at the time to resurrect the woolly mammoth.

“I sat in his office at Harvard a decade ago and talked about this,” Teigen said.

Lamm, who traveled around North Dakota this week with a team, said the firm is evaluating North Dakota for a possible laboratory site. Colossal Biosciences has two labs each in Dallas and Boston, as well as one in Melbourne, Australia.

While in Fargo, Lamm met with officials at North Dakota State University.

“We’re very collaborative,” he said, adding that Colossal is working with expats at Harvard, Cornell, the University of Melbourne, University of California Santa Cruz, Stockholm University and the University of Potsdam.

In addition to its 114 employees, Colossal is funding 30 scholars doing post-doctoral research, Lamm said.

He also met with Tex Hall, chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation. Colossal is interested in Native American oral tradition and perspectives. “We’re looking for their guidance,” he said.

To carry out its ambitious “de-extinction” mission for the woolly mammoth, Colossal has assembled a team of more than 40 scientists and three laboratories engaged in fields including computational biology, cell and genome engineering, stem cell biology, embryology, protein engineering and “assistive” reproductive technologies.

The company’s goal is to bring the woolly mammoth back to life sometime in 2028, Lamm said. “We’re still very confident,” he said.