The Dodo, the bird that became a symbol of extinction more than 400 years ago, could be one step closer to returning to life, the Texas-based biotechnology company Colossal Biosciences announced that it managed to grow primordial germ cells, the precursors of eggs and sperm, from pigeons, paving the way for an ambitious de-extinction project.

The achievement was described by scientists as a crucial step. Bev Shapiro, chief scientific officer at Colossal, summed up the impact, “we needed this to move forward and now that we got it, we're ready to move forward.” The strategy involves using the Nicobar pigeon, the dodo's closest living relative, as a genetic base.

From there, the terminal cells would be edited to provide unique characteristics of the extinct BA, reconstructed from DNA fragments preserved in museum specimens.

The process, however, is different in birds than in mammals, since birds cannot be cloned in the same way; instead, researchers will have to inject those edited cells into sterile chicken embryos that would function as surrogates. The expected result is that their descendants carry genetic characteristics close to those of the dodo.

It is a slow path, if it estimates between 5 and 7 years until the first tangible results appear, but the project goes beyond the simple charm of bringing back a lost icon, Colossal Biosciences had already attracted attention by announcing the creation from genetic engineering of offspring of something close to the extinct dire wolf and is also working on projects with the woolly mammoth and the Tasmanian tiger.

In all cases, the promise is to use science to reverse historical losses, although critics warn that talking about “resurrection” is an exaggeration. According to specialists, it would never be possible to recreate a dodo identical to the original, since a species is more than just its DNA, Hormones, environmental interactions and unique development processes cannot be replicated.

What would be obtained would be, at most, a functional hybrid, a reconstructed species with a close genetic base, even so, the implications are enormous. The new technique can benefit not only de-extinction projects, but also the conservation of current birds at risk of disappearing due to lack of genetic diversity.

For many scientists, this could be Colossus' true legacy - not to relive the past, but to ensure that other species do not follow the dodo's same fate.