• Historic anatomical preparations from the late 1700s in the Hunterian Anatomy MuseumAnatomy Museum © The Hunterian, University of Glasgow Historic anatomical preparations from the late 1700s in the Hunterian Anatomy Museum Anatomy Museum © The Hunterian, University of Glasgow A cold virus that infected a woman in London about 250 years ago has been identified by genetic analysis, making it it the oldest confirmed human RNA virus. • DNA sequencing has enabled scientists to find traces ofsome viruses up to 50,000 years oldfrom ancient human skeletons. • But manyviruses, including the rhinoviruses that cause common colds, have a genome made fromRNA, which is much less stable than DNA and usually degrades within a few hours after death. • Read moreWe finally know why some people seem immune to catching covid-19 Read more We finally know why some people seem immune to catching covid-19 Our cells also produce RNA as part of the process of reading the genetic code and translating it into proteins. • In recent years, scientists have been pushing back the age at which they have been able to recover ancient RNA, with one team recently extracting RNA froma woolly mammoth that died 40,000 years ago. • “Until now, most ancient RNA studies have relied on exceptionally well-preserved materials, such as permafrost samples or desiccated seeds, which greatly limits what we can learn about past human disease,” saysErin Barnettat the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, Washington.

Article Summaries:

  • A cold virus that infected a woman in London about 250 years ago has been identified by genetic analysis, making it it the oldest confirmed human RNA virus. DNA sequencing has enabled scientists to find traces of some viruses up to 50,000 years old from ancient human skeletons. But many viruses, including the rhinoviruses that cause common colds, have a genome made from RNA, which is much less stable than DNA and usually degrades within a few hours after death. Our cells also produce RNA as part of the process of reading the genetic code and translating it into proteins. In recent years, scien

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