Oetzi the Iceman has a new look. Decades after the famous glacier mummy was discovered in the Italian Alps, scientists have dug back into his DNA to paint a better picture of the ancient hunter.
They determined that Oetzi was mostly descended from farmers from present day Turkey, and his head was balder and skin darker than what was initially thought, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Cell Genomics.
Oetzi, who lived more than 5,000 years ago, was frozen into the ice after he was killed by an arrow to the back. His corpse was preserved as a “natural mummy” until 1991, when hikers found him along with some of his clothing and gear — including a copper ax, a longbow and a bearskin hat. Since then, many researchers have worked to uncover more about the mummy, which is displayed at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy.
An earlier draft of Oetzi’s genome was published in 2012. But ancient DNA research has advanced since then, so scientists decided to take another look at the iceman’s genes, explained study author Johannes Krause, a geneticist at Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. They used DNA extracted from the mummy's hip bone.
The updated genome is “providing deeper insights into the history of this mummy,” said Andreas Keller of Germany’s Saarland University. Keller worked on the earlier version but was not involved with the latest study.
Based on the new genome, Oetzi's appearance when he died around age 45 was much like the mummy looks today: It's dark and doesn't have much hair on it, said study author Albert Zink, head of the Institute for Mummy Studies at Eurac Research in Italy. Scientists previously thought the iceman was lighter-skinned and hairier in life, but that his mummified corpse had changed over time.
His genome also showed an increased chance of obesity and diabetes, the researchers reported.
And his ancestry suggests that he lived among an isolated population in the Alps, Zink said. Most Europeans today have a mix of genes from three groups: farmers from Anatolia, hunter-gatherers from the west and herders from the east. But 92% of Oetzi’s ancestry was from just the Anatolian farmers, without much mixing from the other groups.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Alysa McCall, director of conservation outreach and staff scientist at Polar Bears International, joined Cheddar to discuss the ongoing fight to protect polar bears from extinction while world leaders gathered to discuss the climate crisis. McCall explained her organization's mission "to ensure the long term survival of polar bears by helping ensure their arctic sea ice habitat remains intact." McCall said she hopes actionable steps are taken after the UN climate summit to mitigate the crisis and not just more promises.
Moderna reported a massive miss on revenue in its Q3 earnings, taking in $5 billion versus the expected $6.21 billion despite sales of the COVID-19 vaccine. The pharmaceutical giant's stock dropped sharply on the news.
Carlo and Baker discuss the fallout from Tuesday's election and the flashing warning sign for Dems ahead of the midterms. Also, a big 2A case at the Supreme Court, Aaron Rodgers has Covid and is in big trouble, and a first for the MCU.
Carlo and Baker discuss the election results across the country, including a Republican comeback in Virginia -- and possibly NJ -- plus the CDC gives the go-ahead for child vaccinations, Atlanta wins the World Series and more.
Dr. Julie Morita, executive vice president of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, joined Cheddar to discuss the CDC advisory panel recommending the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5-11. "We've seen many millions of children getting sick, many hospitalized, many dying because of COVID," Morita said. "And so now we have a new tool that we can use to keep our children safe." She also noted that hesitancy among parents about vaccinating their children will likely fade in time as the childhood vaccine program gets underway.
Matthew Oxenford, Analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, joins a special edition of Cheddar Climate, where he discusses the responsibilities big businesses across multiple sectors have when it comes to combating the effects of climate change around the world.
President Joe Biden introduced the Global Methane Pledge on the second day of the United Nations climate summit. The U.S. and the European Union will lead the way when it comes to methane emissions reductions, and close to 100 nations have also signed on. It's seen as the fastest way to slow down global warming and keep nations on track toward meeting the goal of keeping warming just 1.5 degrees Celsius above late 1800s atmospheric levels. Dr. Sweta Chakraborty, U.S. President of climate-focused startup 'We Don't Have Time' joins Cheddar Climate to discuss the importance of the Biden administration's methane regulations -- and the importance of U.S. leadership when it comes to climate issues.
John Paul Mejia, the national spokesperson for the Sunrise Movement, joined Cheddar to talk about what the youth activist group wants to see from President Joe Biden as he attends the COP26 climate summit. Mejia admonished the president for having little to deliver on his own climate agenda domestically while at the conference. "We need the president to follow through with his promises because, frankly, it's a matter of life or death not only for communities here in the United States but also those looking to us around the world," he said.
With COP26 kicking off, roughly 120 world leaders and delegates are in Glasgow, Scotland to hold climate talks this week. As experts continue to warn about the dangers of climate change, ESG investing is more important than ever.
Georges Archibald, Head of Apex Americas at Apex Group joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Roughly 20,000 heads of state, diplomats, and activists will gather in person starting Oct. 31 to address the threat of climate change. The summit, known as COP26, is seen as a crucial step in getting the crisis under control as scientists warn global warming is only getting worse. Carroll Muffett, President and CEO of the Center for International Environmental Law, joined Cheddar to explain the goals of COP26 and why it's so crucial for the world leaders to step up and make new, aggressive climate commitments.
