Cairo - Hazem BadrResearchers at McMaster University have developed a new technique to tease ancient DNA from soil, pulling the genomes of hundreds of animals and thousands of plants which many of them are long extinct. The DNA extraction method, outlined in the journal Quarternary Research, allows scientists to reconstruct the most advanced picture ever of environments that existed thousands of years ago. According to a report published by the University of McMaster, this technique retrieves the ancient DNA by using the cells constantly shed by organisms throughout their lives. "In the Yukon samples, we found the genetic remnants of a vast array of animals, including mammoths, horses, bison, reindeer and thousands of varieties of plants. The scientists determined that woolly mammoths and horses were likely still present in the Yukon's Klondike region as recently as 9,700 years ago, thousands of years later than previous research using fossilized remains had suggested," Poinar said.

Source: Forbes September 12, 2020 06:15 UTC