Crusaders made love and war, genetic study finds
The first genetic study of ancient human remains believed to be Crusaders confirms that warriors travelled from western Europe to the near East, where they
Category : Biology
HeritageDaily – Biology news and biological press releases from across the globe
Ancient DNA shows migrants introduced farming to Britain from Europe
Farming was brought to Britain by migrants from continental Europe, and not adopted by pre-existing hunter-gatherers, indicates a new ancient DNA study led by UCL
Necrophagy: A means of survival in the Dead Sea
Studying organic matter in sediments helps shed light on the distant past. What was the climate like? What organisms populated the Earth?
Multiple Denisovan-related ancestries in Papuans
DNA sequences from Indonesia and New Guinea reveal new branches of the Denisovan family tree
Woolly mammoths and Neanderthals may have shared genetic traits
A new Tel Aviv University study suggests that the genetic profiles of two extinct mammals with African ancestry -- woolly mammoths, elephant-like animals that evolved
Researchers shed new light on the origins of modern humans
Reasearches have been using a genetic approach to tackle one of the most intractable questions of all – how and when we became truly human.
First Anatolian farmers were local hunter-gatherers that adopted agriculture
An international team, led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and in collaboration with scientists from the United
Hepatitis B virus sheds light on ancient human population movements into Australia
Australian researchers have used current hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome sequences to deduce ancient human population movements into Australia, adding weight to the theory that
‘Ibiza is different’, genetically
Ibiza is different." That is what the hundreds of standard-bearers of the "hippie" movement who visited the Pitiusan Island during the 60s thought, fascinated by
Poop helps show climate change contributed to fall of Cahokia
A new study shows climate change may have contributed to the decline of Cahokia, a famed prehistoric city near present-day St. Louis. And it involves
The Caucasus: Complex interplay of genes and cultures
An international research team, coordinated by the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (MPI-SHH) and the Eurasia Department of the German Archaeological
Baboons provide new insights into the evolution of the genome
Recent studies suggest that closely related species can develop significant genetic and phenotypic differences throughout their evolution despite ongoing gene flow.
Artificial intelligence applied to the genome identifies an unknown human ancestor
By combining deep learning algorithms and statistical methods, investigators have identified, in the genome of Asiatic individuals, the footprint of a new hominid who cross bred
First ancient DNA from mainland Finland reveals origins of Siberian ancestry in region
Researchers from the Max-Planck-Institute for the Science of Human History and the University of Helsinki have analyzed the first ancient DNA from mainland Finland.
Ancient human population histories revealed in Central and South America
The first high quality ancient DNA data from Central and South America--49 individuals some as old as 11,000 years--has revealed a major and previously unknown
‘Potato gene’ reveals how ancient Andeans adapted to starchy diet
Potatoes, native to South America, became an agricultural crop thousands of years ago in the Andean highlands of Peru. And just as the ancient Andean
DNA of world’s oldest natural mummy unlocks secrets of Ice Age tribes in the Americas
A legal battle over a 10,600 year old ancient skeleton - called the 'Spirit Cave Mummy' - has ended after advanced DNA sequencing found it
New, large sequence panel enables population genetics research in Africa
Geneticists have assembled the largest sets of African genomic data available to date, creating a resource that will help researchers understand the genetic structure of
Parasites from medieval latrines unlock secrets of human history
A radical new approach combining archaeology, genetics and microscopy can reveal long-forgotten secrets of human diet, sanitation and movement from studying parasites in ancient poo,
Modern humans inherited viral defenses from Neanderthals
Neanderthals mysteriously disappeared about 40,000 years ago, but before vanishing they interbred with another human species that was just beginning its global spread.
DNA of early medieval Alemannic warriors and their entourage decoded
In 1962, an Alemannic burial site containing human skeletal remains was discovered in Niederstotzingen (Baden-Württemberg, Germany). Researchers at the Eurac Research Centre in Bozen-Bolzano, Italy,
Researchers reveal hidden rules of genetics for how life on Earth began
All living things use the genetic code to “translate” DNA-based genetic information into proteins, which are the main working molecules in cells. Precisely how the