Proteins from 400,000-year-old Homo erectus teeth reveal genetic links to Denisovans and modern humans
By
Andrew Curry
Slow-proofed and worth the wait. Worth its weight in flour.
Summary
A new study published in Nature reveals that researchers have successfully extracted and analyzed proteins from the enamel of six Homo erectus teeth found in China, dating back at least 400,000 years. Using a minimally destructive method, the team identified protein variants that show genetic links between Homo erectus, Denisovans, and modern humans. This marks the first clear glimpse of proteins—and by extension DNA—from this long-extinct human ancestor, whose fossils have been studied for over a century across three continents.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledFor more than a century, researchers have studied the bones of a central character in the human story, a heavy-browed human ancestor named Homo erectus whose fossils were eventually found on three continents.
Now, a new study reveals the first clear glimpse of the proteins—and therefore the DNA—of this ancestor.
In a study published today in Nature, a team of Chinese researchers use a minimally destructive method to identify proteins from the enamel of six H. erectus teeth from China, dated to at least 400,000 years ago.
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