Editor's choice: ancient DNA
The past few years has seen a surge in papers where DNA has been successfully sequenced from specimens that died decades, hundreds or thousands of years ago. Reaching the point where researchers are able to extract such ancient DNA is the culmination of decades of collaborative work by chemists, biologists and archaeologists. As a result of these efforts, we can now harness ancient DNA data to reveal new insights in anthropology, evolutionary biology and the archaeological sciences. To recognise the strides made in this field, the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Svante Pääbo for his work on the genome of extinct hominins, that gave birth to paleogenetics. This collection celebrates our most recent research on ancient DNA, showcasing methodologies that advanced the field, and research providing insight into human and species evolution.
