- Scientist reconstructed the mitochondrial genome from two grams of bone
- They found early humans shared a common ancestor with the Denisovans
- This was suprising as early humans were thought to share a common ancestor with Neanderthals due to similar skeletal features
PUBLISHED: 13:09 EST, 4 December 2013 | UPDATED: 13:47 EST, 4 December 2013
The world’s oldest human DNA has been recovered from the thigh bone of an ancestor that walked the Earth 400,000 years ago.
It belonged to a hominin, or early human, known as Homo heidelbergensis and provides a new vital piece of the jigsaw in the story of evolution.
Using a technique for retrieving and sequencing highly degraded ancient DNA, scientists were able to reconstruct the almost complete mitochondrial (mt) genome from just two grams of bone powder.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2518219/Worlds-oldest-DNA-recovered-400-000-year-old-thigh-bone–provides-new-jigsaw-piece-history-evolution.html#ixzz2mY74vr4u Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
By Ralph Turchiano
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