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A 14th century CE Brucella melitensis genome and the recent expansion of the Western Mediterranean clade

A high-quality 14th C. CE Brucella melitensis genome points to a speciation event contemporaneous to sheep domestication.

A new approach to sedimentary ancient DNA analysis

Researchers at the Ancient DNA Centre outline new methods for the extraction and enrichment of ancient DNA from permafrost cores greatly increasing the amount ...

The continental migrations of American mastodons

As part of a large collaborative project, researchers at the Ancient DNA Centre conducted the first large scale phylogeographic analysis of American mastodons ...

Molecular analysis of a 11 700-year-old rodent midden from the Atacama Desert, Chile

We combined both ancient DNA and mascroscopic identification of 11,700 year old middens in the Atacama Desert, Chile to show that the past climate was much ...

The genetics of Civil War era smallpox vaccination

McMaster Ancient DNA Centre researchers characterize the genetics of early smallpox vaccinations, extracting ancient DNA from the preserved scabs and lymph ...

Whole genomes reveal messy history of promiscuous proboscideans

A new collaboration between researchers at the McMaster Ancient DNA Centre and international researchers from across the United States, Europe, and Australia ...

A molecular portrait of maternal sepsis from Byzantine Troy

Pregnancy complications are poorly represented in the archeological record, despite their importance in contemporary and ancient societies. While excavating a ...

Osteocalcin protein sequences of Neanderthals and modern primates

Here we report the oldest fossil primate protein sequences from two approximately 75 thousand year old Neanderthals, as well as modern sequences from ...

Protein preservation and DNA retrieval from ancient tissues

Here we outline a technique using flash pyrolysis to assess the peptide hydrolysis of 11 archaeological and paleontological remains and use it as a proxy for ...

Yersinia pestis and the Plague of Justinian 541—543 AD: a genomic analysis

McMaster Ancient DNA researchers and collaborators identified Yersinia pestis as the causative agent behind the Plague of Justinian. Notably, the the Justinian ...