Science Stories with Joe Johnson: Fuzzy Mice and A Touch of Gold

Joe Johnson is Radio Catskill’s resident science guy who brings us science stories that caught his eye 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 Dreams
In 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 Again
The 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 development studies and artificial womb design.

Environmental ethicists, such as University of Montana professor Christopher Preston, say Colossal is taking animal welfare seriously, and the company has backing from the American Humane Society.

Colossal’s de-extinction ambitions don’t stop at woolly mammoths and dire wolves. The biotech firm has its sights set on reviving the Tasmanian tiger (thylacine) and the dodo, two iconic species lost to history.

The Return—and Burn—of Kosmos 482
While we look to the future, one relic from the past made its final descent. The Soviet lander Kosmos 482, launched in 1972 with a mission to explore Venus, finally crashed back to Earth this month. After its booster failed, the lander remained in orbit for over 50 years, surviving multiple reentries and tracked as recently as May 10 over Germany—before disappearing and likely burning up over the Indian Ocean.

Turning Lead Into Gold—Literally
The ancient dream of alchemy may have finally found a shred of reality—thanks to the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. During high-energy experiments meant to simulate Big Bang conditions, scientists accidentally created gold atoms by smashing lead ions together.

In some cases, the collisions caused the lead atoms to lose three protons—changing their atomic number from 82 (lead) to 79 (gold). The result: gold ions. Between 2015 and 2018, CERN’s ALICE experiment generated about 86 billion gold nuclei—though the total amount of actual gold was less than a trillionth of a gram.

“The real value,” Johnson says, “is in what we learn about nuclear physics and how it improves the collider’s performance.”

Image: These mice have been genetically modified to be hairier. (Credit: Colossal Biosciences)