Scientists revive Stone Age molecules
May 4, 2023
Breakthroughs in ancient genome reconstruction and biotechnology are now revealing the rich molecular secrets of Paleolithic microorganisms.
In a transdisciplinary study, scientists are rebuilding microbial natural products up to 100,000 years old using dental calculus of humans and Neanderthals. New techniques of reconstructing bacterial genomes encased within the dental calculus, also known as tooth tartar, from Neanderthals and early forms of anatomically modern humans could lead to the discovery of new antibiotics, according to a new study.
The scientists are led by Pierre Stallforth of the Friedrich Schiller University and the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology in Germany, and Christina Warinner of Harvard University and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, also in Germany.
Read more at UNM Newsroom.
