Scientists are attempting to bring the bluebuck back from extinction , a Texas biotech start-up has announced. Colossal Biosciences said on Thursday that its researchers would use genetic technology in an effort to bring back the bluebuck, the first large African mammal to go extinct in modern history. The bluebuck, an antelope once native to southern Africa and known for its silvery-blue coat and curved horn, was hunted to extinction around 1800 during the European colonial settlement of the Cape, mere decades after its scientific discovery. The project is part of Colossal’s wider “de-extinction” programme, aiming to revive species such as the dire wolf , the woolly mammoth and the dodo . The bluebuck is the sixth species added to that list and the first antelope to be included in their pioneering efforts. Colossal’s chief executive Ben Lamm said the project is a “pivotal step” to help “protect entire ecosystems”.…