Joe Rogan Experience #2551 - Daniel Kokotajlo · Aired Sep 9, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
Colossal Biosciences has successfully brought back the dire wolf using ancient DNA.
The finding
What the evidence shows
Colossal made only about 20 DNA edits to a gray wolf genome out of roughly 12 million base pair differences between gray wolves and dire wolves, so the pups are genetically modified gray wolves with some dire wolf like traits, not resurrected dire wolves. Scientists say true de-extinction would need much more of the genome restored, and Colossal itself later leaned on a broader definition of species based on appearance rather than genetics to support the claim.
Read the supporting source · whyevolutionistrue.com ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that Colossal Biosciences has successfully brought back the dire wolf using ancient DNA?
Partly. The claim stretches what the evidence shows. Colossal made only about 20 DNA edits to a gray wolf genome out of roughly 12 million base pair differences between gray wolves and dire wolves, so the pups are genetically modified gray wolves with some dire wolf like traits, not resurrected dire wolves. Joe Rogan said it (matched by voice) on Joe Rogan Experience #2551 - Daniel Kokotajlo, aired Sep 9, 2026, at 1:54:59. The supporting source is whyevolutionistrue.com, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
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- One selected claim from the episode
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