Scientists have claimed they are one step closer to bringing the dodo back from extinction within a few years.

Boffins in Texas have created gene-edited chickens that could one day lay eggs carrying the extinct bird using tweaked pigeon DNA.

Colossal Biosciences have created the birds without their own primordial germ cells, which they can insert reconstructed dodo DNA into.

Primordial germ cells become sperm or eggs, so once dodo DNA has replaced the chicken cells and been fertilised, they will lay "dodo" eggs.

The team has also grown pigeon primordial germ cells for the first time from the Nicobar pigeon - the dodo's closest relatives.

They will then edit in dodo DNA before transferring it to a chicken.

Colossal said it was "a pivotal step in bringing back the dodo" which "paves the way to create the world's first dodos in nearly 300 years".

Ben Lamm, chief executive and co-founder of Colossal, said: "Our avian team's breakthrough in deriving culture conditions that allow pigeon primordial germ cells to survive long-term is a significant advancement for dodo de-extinction."

He said the company expected to reach its goal of creating a live dodo in around five to seven years and added: "But it's not 20 years out."

The 3ft-tall dodo, which couldn't fly, became extinct in the 17th century after it was hunted by humans and animals in Mauritius.

Colossal is so confident that it can bring the bird back that it is in talks with the government of Mauritius to find a suitable habitat.

The company, which also wants to "de-extinct" the woolly mammoth and sabre toothed tiger, also established the Mauritius Dodo Advisory Committee, to help develop a rewilding programme.

Dr Devina Lobine, of the Mauritius Institute of Biotechnology, who is leading the committee, said: "I am driven by a deep passion for scientific discoveries and inspired by the dream of seeing the dodo walk the earth once more.

"This journey is more than reviving a lost species - it is about honouring our island's unique heritage."

Dodo breakthrough as scientists use pigeon DNA to bring extinct bird back from dead - Daily Star