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Title2501_DW_3Month_NonExclusive
UploaderVuca,
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Tagsadult, captivity, dire_wolf, eyes_open, facing_towards, image, mouth_closed, multiple, orange_eyes, outdoors, partial_body, remus, romulus, standing, white_fur, zoo
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Vuca
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edited		The dire wolf has been brought back (edit: perhaps) from extinction (see source link).

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Vulpex
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It was like reading a science fiction story. But it's not. It's real. Fascinating.

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Vuca
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Now that the dust of excitement has settled, and now that smart and incredulous folks have discussed the matter ([for instance](https://briandunning.substack.com/p/heres-all-you-need-to-be-gravely)), an update and clarification is perhaps in order. Genotypically, no, as dire wolves were a different genus than grey wolves; but phenotypically? Yes, I would agree - it's as close to a dire wolf as is currently possible. I think hostile incredulity risks over-interpreting what was actually claimed, which was never that "we cloned ancient DNA from an extinct species back into a living organism". Which isn't even necessarily what is meant by [de-extinction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De-extinction). But it *is* a step towards that eventual goal. The terms they're using are 'brought back' or 'resurrected', which carry no scientific definition, and are more of a metaphor.

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