Scientists at Colossal Biosciences have successfully hatched live chicks from a fully artificial egg, marking a landmark breakthrough that paves the way for resurrecting long-extinct species including New Zealand’s giant moa.
Colossal Biosciences, a biotech company that aims to resurrect lost creatures, said it has hatched live chicks in an artificial environment — a development that was met with mixed reviews from scientists and critics. Read more: https://t.co/VHJ6vD4xcE pic.twitter.com/odw4144OBg
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 19, 2026
Scientists have hatched live, healthy chicks from a fully artificial egg for the first time, in a breakthrough described as a critical milestone toward bringing back extinct species.
Experts at Colossal Biosciences developed a shell-less incubation system using a 3D-printed latticed outer shell and a permeable silicone membrane that allows oxygen to transfer naturally, mirroring real eggshells. Early bird embryos were transferred into the device and incubated for 18 days before hatching successfully.
“This device changes everything. We’re showing the world that we can grow this whole bird in an incubator outside of an eggshell. It’s a complete game-changer. Life finds a way,” the company said.
The company said the technology is critical to its plans to de-extinct the South Island giant moa, an enormous New Zealand bird that stood nearly 12 feet tall and vanished roughly 500 years ago. Professor Andrew Pask, chief biology officer at Colossal, said: “The genome is the blueprint, but without a place to build, it’s meaningless. The artificial egg gives us that platform: controlled, scalable, and completely independent of a surrogate.”
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