The reality of a complete Neanderthal genome draws near, as two papers report the sequencing of large amounts of Neanderthal DNA. The results will help to answer some central questions on human evolution. The study of ancient DNA fascinates everybody.But it has a chequered history, with several high-profile failures - such as false reports of the amplification of DNA sequences from dinosaurs - taking the sheen off undoubted success stories. Among these successes are the identification of human-induced changes in the genes of maize, and the advent of methods for amplifying a single copy of nuclear DNA3. Vocal researchers from the field have argued that it is impossible to sequence the entire genome of an extinct organism, and that the very notion is pure science-fiction because such genomes are typically highly fragmented. How could so many tiny pieces of DNA be sequenced and aligned?
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