{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Radio Chatskill","title":"Science Stories with Joe Johnson: Fuzzy Mice and A Touch of Gold ","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":569,"description":"Joe Johnson is Radio Catskill’s resident science guy who brought us science stories that caught his eye recently from the frontiers of science. This week, Joe talks about turning lead into gold, Soviet space debris, partially resurrected dire wolves, and long-haired genetically engineered mice.  Hairy Mice and Mammoth DreamsIn early March, biotech company Colossal Biosciences unveiled a unique creation: genetically edited mice that are, in Joe’s words, “cute as heck.” These long-haired, fat little puffballs aren’t just lab curiosities—they’re the product of seven targeted genetic edits to DNA sequences regulating hair length, thickness, texture, color, and body fat.The experiment is part of Colossal’s ambitious push to test whether multiple gene edits can result in viable, healthy animals—and ultimately, to explore cold weather adaptations. Why cold weather? Because these mice are early test cases for something far more ancient: the woolly mammoth.Colossal's ultimate goal is to bring a \"mammoth-like\" creature to life by 2028, using Asian elephants as the genetic base. The hope? That herds of these Ice Age giants could help restore Arctic ecosystems and mitigate climate change by encouraging tundra growth.Dire Wolves (Almost) Walk AgainThe company also made headlines this spring with another project: resurrecting the dire wolf, which went extinct roughly 13,000 years ago. Using ancient DNA extracted from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old inner ear bone, Colossal scientists made 20 genetic edits to modern gray wolf DNA.The result isn’t a true dire wolf, Johnson clarifies: “You have a dire wolf-like gray wolf.” Still, three pups—Romulus, Remus, and Ksi—were successfully born between October 2024 and January 2025.The field, known as de-extinction, has drawn criticism from skeptics who argue that the science may be more spectacle than substance. But Johnson points out that Colossal has conducted serious, peer-reviewed research, including embryonic...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/q7XXsnSXT_u4mZLCn3chUorwDmUD_kWiB272D6emB18/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80N2Uy/OGY5MWUwZThkYTEw/NDVkZGM2ZGZkZDIw/ZjliOS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}