Could this synthetic egg bring back extinct birds? Researchers urge caution

A Texas company says it has created an artificial egg that could bring extinct bird species back to life, such as the giant, 10-foot-tall moa of New Zealand. We are not talking about a model in the laboratory, but about a kind of 3D-printed shell that has already allowed about twenty chicks to hatch. The promise is enormous: one day you could see extinct animals repopulate the planet thanks to this technology. But here comes the twist: instead of celebrating, the scientific community is putting the brakes on. Without public data, no one can say whether we are facing a revolution or just a publicity stunt. The argument is this: it's not enough to invent something spectacular — if you don't share it transparently, science can't advance. Colossal Biosciences, the company behind the project, has chosen not to publish any scientific papers. It only speaks through press releases and videos. Its CEO, Ben Lamm, admits that they want to commercialize the technology, but promises that it will also be available for the conservation of endangered species. There are those like Ben Novak, who is committed to bringing the passenger pigeon back to life, who immediately see immediate potential: "In breeding centers and zoos, they would use this thing tomorrow morning." But let's enter the scene: Yutaka Tahara, a teacher in Japan, has been hatching chicks from artificial eggs with his students for years. However, his prototypes have always had a limitation: extra oxygen was needed for the embryos to survive, especially towards the end. The result? Animals that are often fragile or have internal damage. Colossal's breakthrough would be a membrane that allows the chick to grow with oxygen from normal air, and a transparent window to observe its development — even after genetic modifications, such as changing the shape of the beak. Andrew Pask, head of biology at Colossal, puts it clearly: “The problem so far was that too much oxygen damages tissues, DNA, and proteins. You don't get truly healthy animals.” But here's the paradox: if you don't publish the data, no one can verify whether you've really solved the problem. And Paul Mozdziak, a stem cell expert, is blunt: "It could be something huge, but without data, we can't judge the real impact." Now, the question that few raise is this: are we ready to trust a biological revolution that is only described in words, without the scientific community being able to touch and feel it? And there is another point that is being ignored: if the technology really works, who will control it? You could find yourself tomorrow with species brought back to life by commercial players rather than independent scientists. The next great extinction could be decided by a market algorithm, not by an ethical protocol. The bottom line? An artificial egg can change natural history, but only if the science is transparent and shared. If this story concerns you, you can press I'm In on Lara Notes — it's not a like, it's your way of saying: this idea is now mine. And if you were to tell someone about this matter of extinct birds that might really come back, on Lara Notes you can tag those who talked to you about it using Shared Offline: this way, a record of a meaningful conversation remains. This was from Nature, and it saves you 1 minute.