INTRODUCTION
In New York (AP) – Scientists discovered the oldest known DNA. It, too, reveals what life was like about 2 million years ago in the Northern tip of Greenland. Today, it’s a barren Arctic desert, but back then, it was a lush landscape of trees and vegetation with an array of animals, even the now-extinct mastodon. DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic acid. There are two types of DNA in the cell: autosomal DNA and mitochondrial DNA (also called nuclear DNA).
WHAT IS THE OLDEST DNA DISCOVERY?
DNA found in Greenland has broken the record for the oldest yet to be discovered. The animal and plant DNA fragments are around 800,000 years older than the mammoth DNA previously held the record, with older sequences perhaps still being found. In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick discovered DNA. It marked a milestone in the history of science. It gave rise to modern molecular biology, which is largely concerned with understanding how genes control the chemical processes within organisms.
WHAT IS THE OLDEST KNOWN DNA GLIMPSE?
Oldest known DNA offers of a Once-Lush Artic.
In Greenland’s permafrost, scientists discovered two-million-year-old genetic material from scores of plant and animal species, including mastodons, geese, lemmings and ants.
The DNA fragments collected from permafrost in northern Greenland unlock insights into an ancient ecosystem.
WHO HAS THE OLDEST DNA IN AFRICA?
The oldest remains belonged to a woman found in Tanzania’s Mlambasi rock shelter amid ostrich eggshell beads radiocarbon dated to about 18,000 years. Previously, the oldest human genome from sub-Saharan Africa was 9000 years.
Thompson and colleagues analysed six new partial genomes plus 28 previously reported from across the continent. The team ran the data through a computer program that compares similar snippets of DNA to estimate relatedness; they reconstructed a rough family tree dating back 18,000 years.
Their model suggests the 34 individuals descend from three major source populations. Two of them were already known from north-eastern Africa and southern Africa. But the third population, from Central Africa and most closely related to people today who live a foraging lifestyle there, came as a surprise.
WHAT NATIONALITY HAS THE OLDEST DNA?
The oldest ancient human DNA yet discovered is 430, 000 years old, found in Spain’s Atapuerca mountains. Finding ancient human DNA in Africa, humanity’s birthplace, is difficult because climate conditions cause it to degrade so quickly.
CONCLUSION
Scientists discovered the oldest known DNA and used it to study what life was like two million years ago in Greenland. Today, northern Greenland is an empty, cold area. But in the past, it was full of trees, plants, and animals.
