What Beth Shapiro has said about De-extinction
3 quotes · 1 episode · Oct 5, 2026
Beth Shapiro, American evolutionary biologist and Chief Science Officer at Colossal Biosciences, formerly a professor at UC Santa Cruz and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, has been quoted on De-extinction 3 times in 1 episode of Huberman Lab, most recently on October 5, 2026. Each quote below is verbatim and links to the moment it was said.
In their words
Shapiro explains that dinosaurs cannot be revived because the oldest recovered DNA, from a mammoth, is around one to two million years old, while dinosaurs died out over 66 million years ago.
“We can't bring a dinosaur back to life because we don't have dinosaur DNA. The oldest DNA that we have ever recovered from a bone is from a mammoth bone”
Huberman Lab: Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life | Dr. Beth Shapiro (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 32:39
Shapiro argues that de-extinction and conservation use the same tools and that excitement about extinct species drives investment in protecting living ones.
“when we excite people with the idea of mammoths and dodos and thylacines, we get more engagement and enthusiasm and investment in developing the technology”
Huberman Lab: Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life | Dr. Beth Shapiro (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 1:13:44
Shapiro argues that rejecting new conservation technologies as too risky is itself a choice that accepts reduced biodiversity.
“Doing nothing is not not deciding. Doing nothing is saying we accept the fact that we are going to have a future that is less biodiverse than the present”
Huberman Lab: Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life | Dr. Beth Shapiro (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 1:23:57
Episodes
Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life | Dr. Beth ShapiroHuberman Lab · Oct 5, 2026 · 2 h 16 min
Andrew Huberman talks with evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro about species concepts, Neanderthal DNA, Colossal Biosciences' de-extinction projects, genetic rescue, and the ethics of human genetic selection.
Beth Shapiro on other topics
- Dire wolf · 3 quotes
- Colossal Biosciences · 2 quotes
- Neanderthal admixture · 2 quotes
- Artificial womb · 1 quote
- Black-footed ferret · 1 quote
- Human germline editing and embryo screening · 1 quote
- Gene drive · 1 quote
- Northern quoll · 1 quote