Fresh news for ancient DNA

The advent of the Polymerase Chain Reaction technology has led to the emerg ence of a totally new field of research, known as molecular paleontology, P CR is indeed well suited to amplify the rare molecules that have been scarc ely preserved in fossils through time. Although the claim of the retrieval of several million-year-old DNA had brought skepticism into the field of an cient DNA research, this new science has now rigorously determined its own limits. Paleogenetics provides an attractive approach to resolve questions as diverse as the phylogenetic position of recently extinct species, the ge netic differentiation of past populations, the origin of human genetic pool , the occurrence of human colonization waves throughout the world, or the s preading of great historic diseases.