Tag Archives: paleogenomics

A paleogenomic peek into the human history of the Americas — and all its complications

The following is a guest post from Ellen Quinlan, a PhD Candidate in Biology at Wake Forest University. Ellen’s dissertation work studies the ecology and population genomics of altitudinal range limits in Andean trees.  The Molecular Ecologist receives a small commission … Continue reading

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(Un)usual sources of ancient DNA

Working with ancient DNA can be quite painful at times, but hard work pays off (or so they say) and scientists are starting to reap great benefits from their effort by exploring more and more things to extract DNA from.

Posted in evolution, genomics, methods, Paleogenomics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Petrous bone is the new black

I was just reading an article about skeletal reconstruction of another fascinating extinct species when my supervisor came to my office. I asked: “How about we sequence this creature’s genome?” He replied by asking where the animal had lived. As … Continue reading

Posted in genomics, methods, Paleogenomics | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Single dispersal of modern humans to Eurasia

In a typical ancient DNA study where the number of authors exceeds the number of specimens (actually, equals this time), Cosimo Posth and colleagues sequenced 35 pre-Neolithic modern humans from Europe. By sequencing 35 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genomes, Posth et … Continue reading

Posted in evolution, genomics, natural history, Paleogenomics, population genetics | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments