Additional Coverage:
- Texas company hatches live chicks from artificial eggs in breakthrough that could revive the dodo: report (foxnews.com)
A Texas-based biotech firm, Colossal Biosciences, has achieved a scientific milestone by hatching live chicks from artificial eggs for the first time. This advancement could pave the way for efforts to bring extinct bird species, such as the dodo and the giant moa, back to life.
Colossal Biosciences developed a reusable titanium egg equipped with a bioengineered membrane that replicates the oxygen exchange function of a natural eggshell. Using these innovative eggs, researchers successfully hatched 26 healthy chickens, carefully monitoring their development from embryo to hatching.
“We didn’t just copy nature,” explained CEO and co-founder Ben Lamm. “We tried to re-engineer it.”
The hatched chicks will remain at the company’s avian research facility throughout their lives. Scientists believe this technology holds promise for improving hatch rates in endangered bird species and supports Colossal’s broader mission to resurrect extinct birds.
The moa, a massive flightless bird that once inhabited New Zealand and weighed up to 500 pounds, is among the species targeted for revival. The artificial egg has been designed to be compatible with standard incubators and is capable of accommodating eggs as large as those laid by moas.
Before expanding the application of this technology, Colossal plans further testing using emu and ostrich eggs. The company is collaborating on the moa revival project with New Zealand’s Ngāi Tahu Research Centre and filmmaker Peter Jackson, who is also an investor in Colossal Biosciences.
Lamm anticipates the moa could be brought back by the early 2030s, with the dodo potentially revived within four to five years. Dr.
Beth Shapiro, Colossal’s chief science officer, emphasized the significance of the breakthrough: “The avian reproductive toolkit has lagged behind mammalian systems for decades because birds present unique developmental challenges. The artificial egg changes that.”