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SCIENCE-ANTHROPOLOGY-BIOTECH
EMBARGOED FEBRUARY 10,2010 1800GMT
Artist impression' provided by Nature.com, this week showing an Inuk to illustrate a study published in Nature in which Danish scientists carried out a DNA analysis on a tuft of human hair that has been buried in the Greenland permafrost for the last 4 000 years. The first genome sequence of an ancient human is reported in Nature this week. As well as demonstrating a substantial advance in DNA sequencing techniques, the work also highlights a previously unknown migration of humans around 5,500 years ago. Researcher Eske Willerslev and colleagues analysed hairs from a male in Greenland using SNP analysis, they were able to propose certain characteristics of this individual ? known as ?Inuk? ? such as his skin colour and hair thickness. There are currently very few details known about these particular humans due to the fact that little remains from their culture; however, this work suggests that genomic data can now be used to identify physical traits of individuals from extinct cultures, even when there are only small amounts of material, such as bones, left. AFP PHOTO / SCANPIX /HO/NATURE.COM/NATURE ---RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE NO SALES MANDATORY CREDIT---
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AFP / Mediafax Foto |
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Nuka Godfredsen |
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9 Februarie 2010 |
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4236 x 2481 (1.45 MB) |
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