TERMIUM Plus®

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ANCIENT DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID [1 record]

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Record 1 2026-03-26

English

Subject field(s)
  • Genetics
CONT

When studying evolution, DNA is especially important in its application to identifying and separating organisms into species. However, DNA is a fragile molecule, and it degrades over time. For most fossil species, there is essentially no hope of ever acquiring DNA from their fossils, so answers to questions about their appearance, physiology, population structure, and more may never be fully answerable. For more recently extinct species, scientists have, and continue to, extract ancient DNA (aDNA) which they use to reconstruct the genome of long-gone ancestors and relatives.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Génétique
CONT

Est-il possible d'extraire de l'ADN de restes humains très anciens, afin d'en apprendre davantage sur la génétique des populations? La réponse est oui, grâce à de récentes avancées technologiques. [....] L'ADN humain ancien peut être trouvé notamment dans des vestiges d'os ou de dents. La plupart du temps, il n'est disponible qu'en très petites quantités et a été abîmé par l'humidité ou le climat ambiant. Toutefois, malgré ces obstacles, il est possible d'en tirer des informations.

Spanish

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