Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:44:21 GMT
Scientists have extracted a tooth from the head of a 4,000-year-old mummy to obtain valuable DNA information in the hope of identifying the ancient
Egyptian.
Scientists started their identification project with an unsuccessful attempt to extract DNA from a small patch of skin from the neck of the mummy and
a finger that had been recovered from the tomb.
They rooted the way to where the genetic material was most likely to be intact - deep in the pulp of a tooth. After a three-hour operation scientists
yielded a tooth that might reveal the identity of the ancient Egyptian.
Head of the mummy of Djehutynakht
It would blow my mind if they could actually identify who it is from DNA extracted from this tooth...what do they have to compare it to?
|
