Scientists Hatch Chickens in Artificial Eggs to Revive Extinct Giants

Breakthrough in De-Extinction Technology

In a transparent plastic cup at a Dallas laboratory, a baby chick pecked its way into existence—not from a natural eggshell, but from humanity's first fully artificial egg. Twenty-six baby chickens ranging from a few days to several months old were born from a 3D printed lattice structure that mimics an eggshell, according to Colossal Biosciences . The breakthrough represents a crucial step toward the company's audacious goal: bringing back New Zealand's extinct giant moa, whose eggs are 80 times the size of a chicken's and would be difficult for any modern bird to lay .

The oval-shaped printed lattice is coated inside with a special silicone-based membrane that lets in oxygen, just as a real eggshell does . To hatch the chicks, Colossal scientists poured fertilized eggs into the artificial system and placed them in an incubator, also adding calcium which is normally absorbed from the eggshell, and imaged the embryos' development and growth in real-time . The transparent design allows researchers unprecedented access to study avian development without disrupting the delicate process.

The Moa's Tragic End

The target of Colossal's resurrection efforts was once New Zealand's apex herbivore. For millions of years, nine species of large, flightless birds known as moas thrived in New Zealand, then about 600 years ago, they abruptly went extinct . The moa went extinct after canoes carrying the ancestors of the Maori arrived on New Zealand's South Island about 750 years ago, with archeological sites showcasing the birds' bones alongside stone cutting tools—clear evidence that they were hunted .

The scale of this extinction was staggering. The Polynesians' arrival spelled their doom—within 120 years, the birds were gone . By the time the moa went extinct, the Maori population numbered at most 2,000 individuals, and at the height of moa hunting there were only about 1,500 people—only about 1 person per 100 square kilometers . The total moa population at the time of human settlement has been estimated at 158,000 , making their rapid disappearance all the more remarkable.

Scientific Skepticism and Challenges

While impressive, the technology faces scrutiny from independent scientists. Independent scientists say the technology, while impressive, lacks some components to be truly considered an artificial egg, with Nicola Hemmings of the University of Sheffield noting that "producing a chick from an artificial vessel is not necessarily new" . Critics argue that "they might be able to use this technology to help them make a genetically modified bird, but that's just a genetically modified bird. It's not a moa," said evolutionary biologist Vincent Lynch with the University at Buffalo .

There's a long road ahead before Colossal attempts a moa resurrection using this artificial egg system, as scientists first need to compare ancient DNA from well-preserved moa bones to genomes of living bird species . The company also faces the practical challenge of scaling up dramatically—from chicken-sized eggs to moa eggs that measured 10 inches in length .

Implications Beyond Extinction

Colossal's CEO Ben Lamm said they "wanted to build something that nature has done a pretty good job of developing and make it better and scalable and even more efficient" . Such technologies are useful to study chicken development and glean insights that can also be applied to other mammals and even humans . The artificial egg platform could revolutionize conservation efforts for endangered species whose natural breeding is compromised.

While the moa may never truly return, this technology opens new possibilities for supporting threatened bird species and advancing our understanding of embryonic development. The successful hatching of 26 chickens proves that artificial incubation systems can work—the question now is whether science can bridge the gap between engineering marvels and genuine species resurrection.