Samuel Gorovitz, professor of philosophy, was quoted in an ABC News article titled, "Should we be bringing back extinct species? Ethical concerns raised after dire wolf allegedly resurrected."

The dire wolf made headlines when a U.S. biotechnology company claimed it had brought the long-extinct species back to life through genetic engineering. This canine, comparable in size to the modern gray wolf, was native to the Americas and disappeared around 10,000 years ago.

In the article, Gorovitz, a leader in the development of the medical ethics field, said, "All claims of de-extinction are the invocation of a metaphor, and what they have produced and what they will at some point produce, may be technologically impressive, but they are not and never can be the actual previously extinct creatures."