This week, the world met the woolly "mammouse" -- a genetically engineered mouse with woolly mammoth hair. The scientists at Colossal Biosciences who created it think it's a promising step toward their goal of recreating the woolly mammoth.

"It demonstrates the end-to-end process from taking a computational analysis of ancient DNA, to editing, to embryology, to screening to make sure that we are birthing healthy animals," says Ben Lamm, CEO and co-founder of the Dallas-based company, most recently valued at $10.2 billion.

Colossal is on a mission to bring back extinct species like the mammoth, dodo bird and Tasmanian tiger. Along the way, its efforts are informing conservation of related species ranging from the Asian elephant to the Northern Quoll. The company's overarching goal is to preserve biodiversity -- the variety of life in ecosystems -- which has both ecological and economic impacts.

The newly created woolly mouse represents scientists' success in delivering eight edits in seven genes, with no off-target effects and healthy animals, Lamm says, in addition to being unexpectedly adorable. After identifying differences in the genome of the mammoth and its closest living relative, the Asian elephant, Colossal scientists edited the mouse genome to introduce the mouse-equivalent features: a bushy coat, curly hair, golden-brown color and differences in fat storage.