Overview
- Colossal Biosciences, which disclosed the bluebuck effort Thursday, named the extinct antelope as its sixth project and said work has progressed to genome editing.
- Scientists assembled a 40x bluebuck genome from a Swedish museum specimen and identified roan and sable antelopes as the closest living relatives.
- The team reported first-in-roan antelope tools, including ovum pickup to collect eggs and induced pluripotent stem cells that can grow into many tissue types.
- Researchers are editing roan cells to add bluebuck traits and plan to make embryos for roan surrogates, with a nine-month gestation and a projected birth that the CEO estimated as “2028‑ish.”
- Colossal frames the effort as conservation-focused with habitat planning in South Africa alongside the Endangered Wildlife Trust, while outside experts question ecological readiness and whether resources should prioritize at-risk antelope now.