DNA from the Shroud of Turin and found signs of centuries of human contact

Shroud of Turin, PC: World Imaging / Public domain Nearly 50 years after samples were officially collected from the Shroud of Turin, scientists have used advanced genetic sequencing to reveal just how much biological material the linen cloth has accumulated over the centuries. Researchers applied a technique known as PCR-free next-generation metagenomic sequencing, a method that reads genetic material directly without amplifying it first, to the official 1978 sample collection, uncovering multiple human mitochondrial DNA lineages alongside a wide-ranging microbiome of bacteria, fungi and salt-tolerant microorganisms. The study also detected DNA from cultivated crops, domesticated animals and even Mediterranean red coral, offering a detailed picture of the many people, places and environments the shroud has passed through, though researchers are clear that none of this settles the long-running debate over its age or authenticity.What the genetic testing actually foundAccording to a press release from the University of Padua, one of the institutions involved in the international research collaboration, the study analysed DNA extracted from the official 1978 sample collection taken fr...