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Record 24-Million-Year-Old Proteins Recovered From Fossil Tooth Enamel

SOUTH AFRICA, JUL 9 – Researchers sequenced proteins from 2-million-year-old Paranthropus robustus teeth, revealing biological sex and genetic diversity in early human relatives, advancing paleoproteomics in Africa.

  • Researchers recovered protein fragments from fossilized teeth dating up to 24 million years old in Kenya's Rift Valley and Canada's Haughton Crater.
  • The fossils endured preservation through volcanic ash in Kenya's hot Rift Valley and cold, dry conditions in Canada's Arctic, enabling protein survival beyond previous limits.
  • The new extraction technique allowed analysis of enamel proteins, which are more resilient than DNA and can reveal biological sex, evolutionary relationships, and species diversity.
  • Daniel Green stated that these fragments are "five times older than any retrieved before," and Emmanuel K. Ndiema said the research "provides direct evidence of evolutionary relationships."
  • This breakthrough extends paleoproteomics into the early Miocene, opening new avenues to study molecular evolution of extinct large mammals and hominin ancestors.
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Evolution: Proteins remain intact much longer than DNA. This is crucial for evolutionary research. A rhino tooth from northern Canada…

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Phys.org broke the news in United Kingdom on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
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