Humans
For the first time, we have a method for extracting proteins from preserved soft tissues like brains – which could be a treasure trove of evolutionary information
Brains preserved for hundreds of years can contain intact proteins
Alexandra Morton-Hayward
It is now possible to obtain proteins from preserved soft tissues like brains. The new method could reveal details of human history and prehistory, and of evolutionary history, that were previously impossible to know. That includes what animals ate, the microbes they had in their guts and even how human brain cells changed over evolutionary time.
“There are soft tissues preserved over half a billion years of Earth history,” says Alexandra Morton-Hayward at the University of Oxford. Such tissues could now be mined for proteins. “The amount…
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