AI research brings dodo genome analysis to 95% completion
The dodo-genome analysis is about 95% complete, but that progress does not establish that the extinct bird can be revived; proposed genetic changes remain unconfirmed.
AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 4 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 3 of 4 outletsHow it's made
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Key facts
- Scientists are using AI in an effort to revive the extinct dodo.
- Genome analysis is reported as 95% complete.
The brief
Colossal Biosciences says its AI-assisted analysis of the dodo genome is about 95% complete, and that its platform has identified approximately 2,300 possible genetic targets associated with the bird’s beak and craniofacial traits. The company’s figures describe an analysis and a pool of candidates, not a completed set of genetic edits or a revived dodo.
Moneycontrol reported that the company announced the 95% figure on October 14. It described the platform as examining development of skulls and beaks across more than 70 living bird species, rather than relying only on comparisons between dodo genomes.
That approach supplies comparative information for identifying possible genetic targets, but the report does not establish that any candidate has been tested or shown to recreate a dodo trait. Tekedia adds a constraint behind the candidate list: Colossal says it has obtained one dodo genome, compared with approximately 100 genomes available for its woolly mammoth work.
Tekedia characterizes the approximately 2,300 targets as possibilities for laboratory investigation, not confirmed genetic changes that can restore the bird. The count therefore represents a research pool, not a measure of how many edits would be needed or how likely de-extinction is to succeed.
Colossal Chief Science Officer Beth Shapiro said the genome analysis was in its final stages and that further work would follow peer review of the genome paper. She also said an approach first developed for the company’s dire wolf program was producing value in the dodo program.
Those comments describe the company’s assessment of its research; the reports do not provide peer-reviewed confirmation of the genome analysis or the targets. The accounts emphasize different parts of the work. Moneycontrol foregrounds the 95% completion figure and the comparative study of living birds.
Tekedia focuses on the scarcity of dodo genomic material and cautions that the target count does not amount to validated edits. The Debrief highlights Shapiro’s comments on the analysis and peer review. These accounts are compatible: one describes the platform and its progress, while another stresses the limits of what the candidate list establishes.
The immediate next documented research steps are investigation and testing of candidate targets, followed by peer review of the genome paper, which Shapiro said would come before more work is reported. The coverage does not establish a timetable, a successful genetic edit, or the production of a living bird.
Colossal’s reported progress is therefore a milestone in genomic analysis, not evidence that the extinct species has been brought back.
Why it matters
- The findings mark a research checkpoint for Colossal’s proposed dodo de-extinction effort, but the roughly 2,300 targets are candidates for study, not validated edits or evidence that a dodo can be recreated. Further work could help researchers understand which genetic differences shaped traits such as the bird’s beak, while the company’s limited dodo genome data may constrain those comparisons. For conservation scientists and funders, the project also raises a practical question: whether tools developed for de-extinction can produce useful insights or techniques for protecting living species.
What to watch next
- Whether Colossal investigates and tests the approximately 2,300 candidate genetic targets.
- Whether Colossal’s genome paper proceeds through peer review, the next stage Beth Shapiro identified.
- Whether the company reports any evidence that a candidate target produces a relevant dodo trait.
- Whether Colossal provides further findings from the AI approach it says was developed for its dire wolf program and is being used in the dodo program.
How it's being covered
Coverage analysisShow details4 source articles · 4 unique outletsOutlet political mix: Too few rated· 1 Center · 3 unratedWhere the outlets are based: Unknown 50% · US/Canada 25% · Other 25%
How outlets' accounts compare
3 framing differences · 1 uncorroborated claim · 3 information gaps- Moneycontrol emphasizes the 95% completion claim and comparisons of skull and beak development across more than 70 living bird species.
- Tekedia emphasizes that Colossal has one dodo genome and that the approximately 2,300 targets are candidates, not confirmed genetic changes.
- The Debrief foregrounds Beth Shapiro’s statements about the analysis being in its final stages, peer review, and the approach’s use across species programs.
- Beth Shapiro said the genome analysis was in its final stages and that more work would follow peer review of the genome paper.
- The coverage does not report a timetable for testing targets or producing a living bird.
- The reports do not establish that any of the approximately 2,300 candidate targets has been laboratory-tested or can recreate a dodo trait.
- The completion percentage and candidate count are Colossal’s reported figures; the coverage does not provide peer-reviewed confirmation.
Timeline
Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.- Dutch sailors recorded an encounter with dodos on Mauritius.Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
- A mitochondrial-DNA study identified the Nicobar pigeon as the dodo’s closest living relative among the birds examined.Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
- In 2022, Shapiro and colleagues reported sequencing the dodo genome, providing a basis for comparing its genetic material with that of living pigeons.Background · from our historical context
- On January 31, 2023, Colossal Biosciences announced a dodo de-extinction project and named evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro, who had studied ancient DNA, as its chief science officer.Background · from our historical context
How we got here
On January 31, 2023, Colossal Biosciences announced a dodo de-extinction project and named evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro, who had studied ancient DNA, as its chief science officer.
The project’s proposed approach involved comparing the extinct bird’s genome with those of living relatives and using gene editing; it followed years of research into dodo DNA and evolutionary relationships. A 2002 study of mitochondrial DNA identified the Nicobar pigeon as the dodo’s closest living relative among the birds examined.
Original sources
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