McMaster Ancient DNA News

Nuclear and mitochondrial data from Darwin's extinct ground sloth shows close relation to two-fingered sloths and supports multiple origins for arboreality.

McMaster Researcher reveal complex population dynamics in the wake of Roman subjugation of the Italian Peninsula (3rd century BCE)

A new collaboration between researchers at the McMaster Ancient DNA Centre and international researchers from across the United States, Europe, and Australia has resulted in the most comprehensive study of elephant evolution to-date.

Stable isotopic analyses (δ13C, δ15N) of dental calculus have been suggested as a proxy for the study of diet of ancient populations but questions about their validity have been raised.

Congratulations to Katherine Eaton on being named a MacData Fellow. Her proposed research focuses on mining vast international repositories of DNA sequencing information, to obtain and complete new genomes from the causative agent of Plague - Yersinia pestis.

The McMaster Ancient DNA Centre is pleased to have been a part of two documentaries elucidating the life history of Jumbo the elephant – Jumbo: The Life of an Elephant Superstar (CBC) and Attenborough And The Giant Elephant(BBC).

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a ubiquitous viral pathogen associated with large-scale morbidity and mortality in humans. However, there is considerable uncertainty over the time-scale of its origin and evolution.

The entire McMaster aDNA Centre would like to congratulate Matthew Emery for successfully defending his PhD research.

A $1 million dollar gift by Victor Koloshuk to honour the legacy of his late wife, the renowned biological anthropologist Shelly Saunders, is being used to establish the Shelley Saunders/Koloshuk Family Scholarship.