Comments on: The Saga of King Tut's Genes

The Saga of King Tut's Genes

Hactar — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 11:23:03 -0800

In February 2008, Yehia Gad sequenced Tutankhamun's genes in front of a documentary crew from the Discovery Channel. Jo Marchant writes about the previous work studying his tomb and remians and the unfortunate timing of the last study. (King Tut Previously)

As Marchant reports, the sequencing of DNA that had been baking underneath the Egyptian sands for millennia has significant scientific hurdles. The method that Gad used to sequence Tutankhamun, PCR, is very vulnerable to outside contamination, especially given the amount that his mummy had been handled by modern day people. However, given the recent sequencing of mummy Cat DNA, once they can begin testing again, things do look promising for the future.

By: cell divide

cell divide — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 11:28:29 -0800

Mummy cats? Mummy cat.

By: Alexandra Kitty

Alexandra Kitty — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 12:11:40 -0800

Came to the link for King Tut, but stayed for the cats...even mummy cats are adorable...

By: BlueHorse

BlueHorse — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 12:22:26 -0800

Mummy cats? Please remember to spay and neuter.

By: three blind mice

three blind mice — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 12:28:00 -0800

For many Egyptians, the idea that their most famous kings could share some common heritage with their enemies is a hard one to cope with. Oh come on. In Europe this is a way of life.

By: The 10th Regiment of Foot

The 10th Regiment of Foot — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 12:40:25 -0800

Please remember to spay and neuter. And then place the organs in a tiny sack that you will later sew up into the abdominal cavity of said cat.

By: The 10th Regiment of Foot

The 10th Regiment of Foot — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 12:43:35 -0800

Oh come on. In Europe this is a way of life. It ain't just Europeans!

By: jetlagaddict

jetlagaddict — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 12:55:56 -0800

The technique promises a far more intimate picture of the pharaohs. If used on Tutankhamun, it would retrieve DNA not just from the king himself but from all of the other organisms associated with his mummy; everything from the contents of his stomach, to the plant products used by his embalmers, to the infections he carried. Gad and his colleagues call it the "ancient Egyptian meta-genome."

This would be phenomenal and useful for studying a much broader range of Egyptian lives than just the pharaonic side. I wish, however, that Discovery had never become so into the concept of shows that are basically CSI: Archaeology, however great their investment into the museum and the Egyptian archaeological community was. Fast science is rarely good science, and that includes archaeology. I am constantly asked kind of angrily why we can't simply DNA test every specimen and give real answers about their heritage, which is really part of a bigger conversation about the ramifications around ethics, repatriation, budgets, and the simple limits of existing technology. If this newer technique pans out, that would be a really excellent thing for collections around the world, especially since contamination of specimens is such a big issue for tests like this one. (Also, I could be wrong on this, but I thought the evidence that sibling or half-sibling marital relationships for pharaohs in Egypt were common was pretty solid, long before this?) As a side note, I first learned about Ikram's work in a blurb in Archaeology Magazine, which mentioned (I think) issues around exploding bunny mummies. Exploding bunny mummies.I had just gotten into her alma mater for archaeology, and realized I was going to the right place.

By: feckless fecal fear mongering

feckless fecal fear mongering — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 13:00:44 -0800

Exploding bunny mummies but but but I don't want a new username

By: Joe in Australia

Joe in Australia — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 14:51:44 -0800

Egypt has waged several wars with Israel in recent history, and lost most of them, with territories like the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula falling under Tel Aviv's control.
News flash. Tel Aviv is not the capital of Israel.

By: Alexandra Kitty

Alexandra Kitty — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 19:57:14 -0800

Mummy cats? Please remember to spay and neuter. I got two of my cats from an outdoor cat I first called Mommy Cat...thought she was feral until I found out she had owners who did not follow said sage advice...

By: homunculus

homunculus — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 23:24:47 -0800

Mummy cheese!

By: Twang

Twang — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 23:25:01 -0800

Jo Marchant's book about the Antikythera mechanism Decoding the Heavens was a great read. Looking forward to her tale on this topic, Shadow King. Thanks for the tip!