All articles tagged with #ancientdna
Scientists at GACT in Tübingen are analyzing DNA from cave sediments to uncover insights about early humans, Neanderthals, and past ecosystems, utilizing advanced sequencing technologies to explore biological time capsules preserved in cave deposits worldwide.
Scientists analyzed 7,000-year-old mummified women from Libya, revealing a unique North African lineage with minimal Neanderthal DNA, suggesting isolated evolution and cultural diffusion of herding practices during the Sahara's Green period, reshaping understanding of early human migration and adaptation.
Scientists analyzed ancient DNA from soldiers of Napoleon's 1812 Russian campaign and found traces of pathogens causing paratyphoid fever and relapsing fever, suggesting infectious diseases significantly contributed to the disastrous retreat and defeat.
A study analyzing DNA from Napoleon's 1812 army soldiers' teeth revealed that enteric fever and relapsing fever, caused by Salmonella enterica and Borrelia recurrentis respectively, likely contributed to their demise, challenging previous assumptions that typhus was the main cause.
Scientists have recovered 200,000-year-old DNA from horse remains at the open-air Schöningen site in Germany, challenging previous assumptions that such genetic material could only survive in cold or sheltered environments. The DNA belongs to an extinct horse species, Equus mosbachensis, and provides new insights into ancient horse lineages and early human hunting practices. This discovery suggests that ancient DNA can be preserved in less protected environments, opening new avenues for archaeological genetic research.
Scientists have discovered preserved proteins in 18-million-year-old fossilized mammal teeth from Kenya, revealing new insights into ancient animal biology and evolution, and pushing back the age of detectable peptide fragments by several times previous records, opening new frontiers in paleobiology.
Scientists used ancient DNA from 37,000-year-old bones to create a timeline of human infections, revealing how diseases evolved with human culture, migration, and domestication, and highlighting the long history of zoonotic pathogens like plague and hepatitis B.
Ancient DNA from 4,000-year-old skeletons in Chile reveals a rare form of leprosy caused by Mycobacterium lepromatosis, suggesting the disease existed in the Americas before European contact and challenging previous beliefs that leprosy was introduced during colonial times.
Archaeologists in Colombia uncovered 6,000-year-old skeletons with unique DNA that suggests a now-extinct lineage of early South Americans, revealing new insights into human migration and population changes in the region over millennia.
A study published in Genome Biology analyzed DNA from over 100 ancient skeletons to explore the origins and cultural ties of the Piceni, a pre-Roman people in central Italy. The research revealed that the Piceni had unique genetic traits compared to other Italian communities, likely due to their distinct location and cultural interactions. Notably, the Piceni exhibited phenotypic diversity, with features like light-colored eyes and blond hair, suggesting genetic links to Northern Europe and the Near East. These findings highlight the Piceni's unique genetic and cultural identity in ancient Italy.
A new whole-genome study has debunked the long-held belief that Armenians are descendants of Phrygian settlers from the Balkans, a theory largely based on Herodotus' accounts and linguistic ties. The research, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, found no significant genetic link between Armenians and Balkan populations. It also disproved claims of Assyrian ancestry for the Sasun, an Armenian group. The study highlights a genetic input from Neolithic Levantine farmers and reveals a high level of genetic similarity among different Armenian groups.
A new whole-genome study has debunked the long-held belief that Armenians are descendants of Phrygian settlers from the Balkans, a theory largely based on Herodotus' accounts. The research, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, found no significant genetic link between Armenians and Balkan populations. It also disproved claims of Assyrian ancestry for the Sasun, an Armenian group. The study highlights a genetic input from Neolithic Levantine farmers into the Armenian highlands post-Early Bronze Age, suggesting a large-scale migration across the Middle East.