The answers to decades-long questions about the health issues suffered by famed classical music composer Ludwig van Beethoven have been found in the most unexpected of places. Thanks to in-depth...
Ancient DNA from human remains that are around 45,000 years old has given scientists new insights into human evolution. It has enabled them to conclude that human populations fairly quickly adopted...
It is no secret that in dating, timing is everything. When studying the past, whether finding coins, bones, or pathogens buried in a mound – the question of when they are from makes the difference...
The skeletons of a man and woman discovered around 100 years ago, as they were trying to survive the notorious Mount Vesuvius eruption of 79 AD, have been put under the scanner by scientists. Using...
An eye-opening new study appearing in the journal Current Biology delves into the extensive interactions between different ethnic groups that shaped the genomes of contemporary Europeans. The...
It was a little over a decade ago that the evolutionary biologist Eske Willerslev successfully applied innovative DNA analysis and decoding technology to unlock genetic secrets from the past. In that...
A team of researchers led by the Swedish Uppsala University geneticist Mattias Jakobsson have fully sequenced the genome of a woman who lived in Europe at least 35,000 years ago. Her DNA was...
A deep and detailed analysis of Neanderthal DNA has revealed the existence of a distinct gene, called NOVA1, that would have significantly influenced early brain development in this long-extinct...
Scientists have tracked ancient Viking genes across Europe further detailing the cultural, political and economic impact of the legendary raiders and traders of the Middle Ages. The Germanic Iron Age...
When the human genome was first discovered, it revealed some amazing genetic secrets – modern humans are way more complicated than we originally thought. During a long evolution , humankind picked up...
The concept known as “genetic memory” is much less studied and far more controversial than what we know as “regular” memory. Whilst there are a multitude of other examples in animals (see: Gallagher...
Genetic research has revolutionized our understanding of Switzerland’s prehistoric past. A group of researchers have carried out a study of genomes from individuals who lived in the Late Neolithic...
When the first Neanderthal genome was sequenced, using DNA collected from ancient bones, it was accompanied by the discovery that modern humans in Asia, Europe and America inherited approximately 2%...
A new genetic study of 1739 Asian individuals from 219 populations has found that on the Indian sub-continent today Denisovan DNA exists mostly among isolated, tribal communities. It also found that...
Ancient DNA from India’s Rakhigarhi archaeological site is telling volumes about the destiny of the mysterious Indus Valley Civilization. Around 3000 BC, Neolithic hunters in northern Scotland began...
An international team of researchers have analysed human remains from 21 archaeological sites to learn more about the impact and evolution of the plague-causing bacterium Yersinia pestis during the...