Ancient DNA

Nearly four decades after the inception of the field, ancient DNA research has been brought back to the spotlight thanks to the attribution of the prestigious Nobel Prize to Prof Svante Pääbo in 2022. Technological and methodical advances in the field, such as next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics models, have since enabled researchers to venture where they had never been before and to gain a unique perspective by diving into the history of species to unravel their genetic heritage. This exciting field mixes genetics and history and still has so much to offer as an increasing number of genomes are revealed, each adding a piece to the puzzle of our history on Earth.