hunting the double helix

In this book the author provides a fascinating glimpse into one of the newest and most intriguing areas of scientific research. Any DNA that still exists in the remains of living things after their death is called ‘ancient DNA’. But the death doesn’t have to be recent – the DNA could be from an organism that died a few days ago, or from an extinct species, such as the Australian thylacine or the New Zealand moa, or from an animal that died in the last Ice Age, such as the mammoth. The study of ancient DNA has been the key to some of the most amazing discoveries. There’s a whole smorgasbord of stories to sample – tales of murder, deadly disease, and mysterious disappearances, and even the origins of human life. Could we re-create a mammoth or a thylacine? Could ‘Jurassic Park’ ever be a reality? Were the Neanderthals our ancestors? What caused the black death? What really happened to the Russian Royal Family? Did Anastasia survive the Russian revolution? Could the unnamed victims of the Titanic be returned to their families? Ancient DNA has been found in a wonderful range of sources, and has been used to answer these and other baffling questions.