A Texas tech company wants to resurrect the Tasmanian tiger - Axios DallasLog InLog InAxios Dallas is an Axios company.

A Texas tech company wants to resurrect the Tasmanian tiger

Now extinct Tasmanian tiger (thylacine) in 1933 at Hobart Zoo in Tasmania, Australia. Photo: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Colossal Biosciences, a Dallas "de-extinction company" wants to genetically resurrect the Tasmanian tiger — also known as the thylacine — which became extinct in 1936. Why it matters: The announcement from Colossal, which recently raised with plans to bring back extinct animals like the woolly mammoth using gene-editing technology, has raised a slew of ethical concerns.Some experts wonder if a resurrected species would have high enough genetic diversity for a healthy population.Others wonder how the return of an apex predator will affect Tasmania's habitat.Researchers are also worried that focusing on de-extinction could shift limited resources away from protecting threatened species that are still alive, leading to a . How it works: Scientists would start by sequencing the thylacine's genome from DNA that's been preserved for decades. Next, they would complete the same process for one of the thylacine's closest living relatives, a tiny marsupial called the fat-tailed dunnart, per . Fun fact: Tasmanian tigers weren't felines at all. They were dog-like marsupials. What they're saying: "This mythically beautiful carnivorous marsupial was a true masterpiece of biological advancement. Yet, the story of its extinction is a tragedy of human interference and aggression," Colossal said in a . The other side: "It's pretty clear to people like me that thylacine or mammoth de-extinction is more about media attention for the scientists and less about doing serious science," Jeremy Austin, an evolutionary biologist from the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, told . Get more local stories in your inbox with .Subscribe Support local journalism by becoming a member.

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