Colossal Bioscience has developed a 3D-printing technique that creates artificial eggs with a semi-permeable membrane — allowing oxygen in while keeping moisture out, according to the source. the company says this breakthrough could support the resurrection of long-dead species, specifically the dodo and the moa, by enabling in vitro development of embryos. But the invention, while hailed as a major step for conservation, has drawn skepticism about whether resurrected animals could ever truly thrive outside a lab.

The semi-permeable membrane that cracked a 60-year-old oxygen puzzle

As the source reports, a key challenge in growing bird embryos outside a natural egg has been ensuring enough oxygen reaches the developing chick without letting the egg dry out. Colossal's 3D-printed egg solves this with a membrane that is permeable to oxygen but not to moisture — a design that mimics the properties of a real eggshell. The company claims the artificial eggs can be printed in any size, making them adaptable for species ranging from small endangered birds to large extinct ones like the moa.

This technical innovation may also have immediate applications for conservation of living species, not just de-extinction, the source notes. Many critically endangered birds fail to reproduce in captivity because their eggs are fragile or difficult to incubate; a custom-printed shell could dramatically improve hatch rates.

Why Colossal is betting on the dodo and the moa first

Colossal Bioscience has publicly stated that its initial focus is on resurrecting the dodo and the moa — two iconic species that vanished centuries ago, the source explains. The dodo, endemic to Mauritius, was last seen in the 1600s, while moa, giant flightless birds from New Zealand, died out around 600 years ago. These species offer high public visibility and relatively well-preserved DNA samples, as the company has previously collected.

The choice also reflects a strategic shift: Colossal has gained attention for its work on the woolly mammoth and thylacine, but the source suggests the bird-focused egg tech could yield faster, more tangible results.. Bird embryos develop externally, making them easier to incubate in an artificial egg than mammalian embryyos that require a surrogate mother.

Skeptics ask: who will raise the hatchling?

While the egg technology is a significant advance, the source reports that many scientists doubt the resurrected species could survive in the wild.. A dodo chick, for example, would need to learn foraging and predator avoidance from its parents — but there are no adult dodos to teach it . Even if the embryo develops normally, the newly hatched bird would lack the innate behaviors and social cues that come from living in a wild population.

This open question — how to socialize and release a bird that has never existed in the modern ecosystem — remains unaddressed by Colossal's announcement, according to the source. The company hasn't detailed any post-hatch care or rewilding plan, leaving conservationists to wonder whether the effort might ultimately create a few lab-raised curiosities instead of a self-sustaining population.

Colossal's funding and timeline remain undisclosed

The source does not specify how much Colossal Bioscience has invested in this egg-printing technique, nor does it give a publicly stated timeline for when the first dodo or moa might be hatched. The company has released dramatic claims about de-extinction before — including the woolly mammoth project — but has not yet produced a living animal from any of its efforts.

Financial details and peer-reviewed publication of the egg-technology data are also absent from the source. For the claim to move from press release to science, independent replication and transparent costing will be essential, as the source implies.