Ancient chewing gum found in archaeological dig yields DNA info

[Montero]

Getting DNA from ancient chewing gum/glue.

Ancient 'chewing gum' yields insights into people and bacteria of the past

Researchers have succeeded in extracting a complete human genome from a thousands-of-years old 'chewing gum.' According to the researchers, it is a new untapped source of ancient DNA.

www.sciencedaily.com

 

[tinkerdan]

This^ is exactly why I don't chew gum.
Well, that and I can't walk and chew at the same time.

 

[-K2-]

I suspect this means, archeologists will quit all that digging around in the dirt and will begin looking under table-tops and chair seats

K2

 

[tinkerdan]

Think about those movies where the bad--or even good--guy does all those things with gloves and mask and other protection and then sticks the bug under the table with their chewing gum

 

[Brian G Turner]

This is the reconstruction they got from that:

Early Briton had dark skin and blue eyes

Good coverage of that here: Early Briton had dark skin and blue eyes Cheddar Man's genome reveals he was closely related to other Mesolithic individuals - so-called Western Hunter-Gatherers - who have been analysed from Spain, Luxembourg and Hungary. Pale skin probably arrived in Britain with...

www.sffchronicles.com

 

[The Ace]

I knew the stuff could be a b*gg*r to shift, but that's taking it a bit far.

 

[Montero]

Yeah. I once had to clean someone else's giant pile of fossilized chewing gum off the top of an electric socket. Very, very tempted to just buy a new socket and bin the old one.