The effects of the melting polar ice caps may one day be felt well beyond the poles, though. As the polar ice caps shrink, sea levels begin to rise, creating serious problems for coastal areas around the globe. Fortunately, we can do our part to slow down and prevent the environmental changes causing the polar ice caps to melt.
Paabo and colleagues used a new method for sequencing ancient, degraded genetic material to put together the 400,000-year-old specimen's mitochondrial genome. It is the oldest DNA ever found outside permafrost conditions -- in other words, it was not permanently frozen.
A 400,000-year-old mitochondrial genome adds new twists to scientistsâ picture of early human evolution. By Ed Yong | December 4, 2013. Femur from Sima de los Huesos Sima de los Huesos, a cave in northern Spain, contains one of the largest collections of hominin fossils ever discovered. Now, this so-called âpit of bonesâ has also yielded the oldest hominin DNA ever sequenced.