# Reconstructing human history from ancient genomes: an interview with Nobel laureate Svante Pääbo

## TL;DR

This interview discusses Svante Pääbo's Nobel-winning work on ancient human genomes and how it has transformed our understanding of human evolution.

## Contribution

Pääbo's pioneering sequencing of Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes has provided new insights into human evolutionary history.

## Key findings

- Ancient genome sequencing has revealed genetic relationships between modern humans and extinct hominins.
- Commercial DNA kits now allow people to detect Neanderthal ancestry in their genomes.
- Pääbo's work has reshaped the study of human origins and migration patterns.

## Abstract

Professor Svante Pääbo, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2022 for his discoveries in ancient hominine genomes and human evolution. His pioneering work in sequencing and interpreting the paleo genomes of Neanderthals and Denisovans, as well as their relationship with the modern human genome, was groundbreaking in terms of our understanding of human origins. Nowadays, we can even use commercial kits to easily detect the proportion of Neanderthal genes in our own genomes.

Recently, NSR conducted an interview with Professor Pääbo to learn about his interesting work chasing the ancient genomes and reconstructing human evolutionary and migration history from the DNA evidence, as well as his perspective on paleo genome studies and his advice to young researchers: follow your interests and be ready to try some crazy things.

NSR's interview with 2022 Nobel laureate Svante Pääbo to learn about his interesting works in ancient hominine genomes, his perspectives on paleo genome studies and his advice to young researchers.