There have been hundreds of alleged sightings since it was hunted to extinction in the 1930s, but the Tasmanian tiger could be brought back to life within the next decade. That’s the claim of US biotech company Colossal, which made headlines last year after it announced plans to recreate the wooly mammoth using genetic engineering. Now, a multi-million dollar partnership with Melbourne Uni is focused on reviving the Aussie thylacine. To do this, scientists will take the stem cells from a living species with similar DNA – the fat-tailed dunnart – and convert them into tiger cells using a newly-developed gene editing method. The stem cells will then be made into an embryo, which will be placed into either an artificial womb or surrogate dunnart to develop. If successful, the plan is to introduce the marsupial apex predator back into Tassie wilderness, but critics have called the idea “fairytale science”.