Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Jurassic Park got it all wrong. Beth Shapiro would know… she’s Chief Science Officer at Colossal, the genetic engineering company that recently made headlines for bringing back the extinct dire wolf. She breaks down how de-extinction is really done, and why Jurassic Park can never happen.
For more, check out the extended interview with Beth Shapiro. youtube.com/watch?v=krZu74qh9v8&pp=2AYw
Beth Shapiro is an evolutionary biologist and Chief Science Officer at Colossal, a company notably responsible for the de-extinction of the dire wolf. She is also a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz. Her research focuses on species evolution and the continued impact of human activities, considering questions about domestication, speciation and pathogen evolution. She is also exploring techniques to recover trace amounts of DNA from samples and the possible role of genomic technologies in the fields of conservation and medicine.
"Particles of Thought" is hosted by Hakeem Oluseyi, an astrophysicist, author, STEM educator, multi-patented inventor, science journalist, TV personality, science communicator, and inspirational speaker. His research is based on "hacking stars" to understand our universe better and develop innovative new technologies. Oluseyi's work has resulted in 11 patents and more than 100 publications covering contributions to astrophysics, cosmology, and plasma physics and the development of space missions, observatories, focal plane instruments, detectors, semiconductor manufacturing, and ion propulsion.
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Jurassic Park got it all wrong. Beth Shapiro would know… she’s Chief Science Officer at Colossal, the genetic engineering company that recently made headlines for bringing back the extinct dire wolf. She breaks down how de-extinction is really done, and why Jurassic Park can never happen.
For more, check out the extended interview with Beth Shapiro. youtube.com/watch?v=krZu74qh9v8&pp=2AYw
Beth Shapiro is an evolutionary biologist and Chief Science Officer at Colossal, a company notably responsible for the de-extinction of the dire wolf. She is also a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz. Her research focuses on species evolution and the continued impact of human activities, considering questions about domestication, speciation and pathogen evolution. She is also exploring techniques to recover trace amounts of DNA from samples and the possible role of genomic technologies in the fields of conservation and medicine.
"Particles of Thought" is hosted by Hakeem Oluseyi, an astrophysicist, author, STEM educator, multi-patented inventor, science journalist, TV personality, science communicator, and inspirational speaker. His research is based on "hacking stars" to understand our universe better and develop innovative new technologies. Oluseyi's work has resulted in 11 patents and more than 100 publications covering contributions to astrophysics, cosmology, and plasma physics and the development of space missions, observatories, focal plane instruments, detectors, semiconductor manufacturing, and ion propulsion.
📰 Stay up to date on the latest science discoveries, full episodes, articles, videos, and more by signing up for NOVA's newsletter here: to.pbs.org/4brCC7Y
🛍️ Shop official NOVA 50th anniversary merch: nova-shop.org
Follow on social for more NOVA content
Twitter: twitter.com/novapbs
Instagram: instagram.com/novapbs
TikTok: tiktok.com/@novapbs
