In Jurassic Park, researchers famously extract dinosaur DNA from a mosquito preserved in amber for millions of years. In a new study published yesterday (December 28) in Molecular Biology and Evolution, scientists report a similar discovery in real life, albeit with considerably younger genetic material: human DNA preserved in the glue-like cement affixing lice eggs to the heads of mummies.
The cement is a sticky substance head lice make to anchor their eggs to the hair of host animals, making them difficult to remove. In this study, a team of researchers from the UK, Argentina, and Denmark found that lice cement on eight Argentinian mummies between 1,500-2,000 years old contained skin cells from humans’ scalps, thereby preserving the mummies’ DNA. Through DNA sequencing, the team was able to determine the mummies’ sex, as well as genetic evidence indicating that the population the mummies belonged to migrated from west Amazonia—likely the ...
