Science & technology

Colossal Biosciences Hatches Chicks from Artificial Egg

Is this a true de-extinction breakthrough or just clever marketing hype?

Published MAY 19

#Science & technology

Colossal Biosciences Hatches Chicks from Artificial Egg

Story

Image credit: Dr David Barzilai via X

The Facts

Colossal Biosciences announced on Tuesday that it had hatched 26 live chicks using a fully artificial egg system — a 3D-printed titanium lattice shell lined with a bioengineered silicone membrane designed to mimic the oxygen-transfer capacity of a natural eggshell.
Time
New York Post
Colossal Biosciences Inc. on X
The artificial egg was developed primarily to support Colossal's goal of de-extincting the South Island giant moa, a flightless New Zealand bird that stood up to 12 feet tall and was hunted to extinction around 600 years ago. Moa eggs are estimated to have been roughly 80 times the volume of a chicken egg.
Gizmodo
The Telegraph
Because no living bird is large enough to serve as a surrogate for a moa egg, Colossal designed the artificial egg to be size-scalable and compatible with standard commercial incubators. CEO Ben Lamm said a moa could potentially be created by the mid-2030s.
Time
New York Post
CNN on Instagram
Colossal said the artificial egg technology could also benefit conservation efforts, enabling scientists to rescue fragile embryos and hatch birds that struggle to breed in captivity. Chief Animal Officer Matt James said it is "designed to support critically endangered species broadly."
National Geographic
IFLScience
The moa de-extinction project is backed by a $15 million investment from filmmaker Peter Jackson and is being developed in collaboration with the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre.
National Geographic
The Telegraph
GB News
Colossal, which has raised over $600 million and is valued at more than $10 billion, has previously announced efforts to revive the woolly mammoth, dodo and Tasmanian tiger.
National Geographic
The Telegraph

Sources Split

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The Spin

Narrative A

Colossal just pulled off something genuinely groundbreaking — hatching live chicks from a fully artificial egg system that requires zero supplemental oxygen. This scalable platform is the key to reviving the giant moa, a bird whose eggs were 80 times larger than a chicken's, making any living surrogate impossible. Extinction doesn't have to be permanent, and this technology proves the path forward is real.

Colossal Biosciences Inc. on Youtube

MIT Technology Review

Narrative B

Colossal announced this "groundbreaking breakthrough" via press release and YouTube video — not a peer-reviewed paper — making it nearly impossible to assess the actual science. Shell-less incubation isn't new; researchers have been hatching birds in artificial containers since 1998. Until real data gets published, the moa revival story is more marketing than milestone.