Entire genome of extinct human decoded from fossil
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 - 17:00
in Paleontology & Archaeology
Researchers have now been able to sequence the entire Denisova genome using 10 milligrams of a finger bone fragment that was found in the Denisova Cave in Southern Siberia. In 2010, Dr. Svante Pääbo and his colleagues presented a draft version of the genome from a small fragment of a human finger bone discovered in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia. The DNA sequences showed that this individual came from a previously unknown group of extinct humans that have become known as Denisovans. Together with their sister group the Neandertals, Denisovans are the closest extinct relatives of currently living humans.