Lice nits found on the hair of ancient mummies can now be used to extract human host DNA for genomic analyses, reported researchers. The team isolated DNA from cells trapped in the cement that female lice secrete to attach their eggs to hair. Such hair nits are common in mummies and offer a nondestructive method of studying ancient genomes. Using 2,000-year-old nits, the team showed that the Argentinian mummies represented a population that migrated from Amazonia to Argentina.
Human DNA can be extracted from the 'cement' head lice used to glue their eggs to hairs thousands of years ago, scientists have found, which could provide an important new window into the past. In a new study, scientists for the first time.
A team were able to extract the DNA from the cement head lice used to glue their eggs to hairs on mummified bodies in South America, thousands of years ago.