This book shows how a scientist can integrate scientific research into life. Svanter Parbo Faced with repeated disappointments, he did not give up easily, and in the process of overcoming difficulties, he made research a classic and eternal. As the author said, he recorded the combination of people and things that completed scientific research projects. This allows us to come here, feel the charm of science and life, and truly face our own strengths and weaknesses.
In terms of scientific research, Svanter Parbo tells readers about the uncertainty in the scientific research process, telling us to overcome difficulties little by little through daily efforts along the scientific problems of interest, and finally discover the truth of science. As one of the pioneers of the field of ancient DNA , Svanter Parbo, in a sense, let us understand the essence of human beings through the new tool of ancient DNA. More than 30 years ago, Svanter Parbo proved that DNA could be retained in ancient human tissues. His team has also been overcoming technical difficulties and developed many important means to obtain DNA sequences from ancient remains. With the development of relevant experimental technologies, the research on ancient DNA has achieved a series of breakthrough results, providing a new perspective and method for the study of human origin and migration, civilization spread and collision, major historical events and historical unsolved cases.
Although modern humans are the only humans that have survived to this day, archaeological research shows that in ancient times, there were a large number of other types of humans on the earth. In 1997, the Parbo team obtained the mitochondrial DNA sequence of the first ancient human, Neanderthal . In 2005, he launched the Neanderthal genome sequencing program. In 2010, he published the first Neanderthal genome sketch, which first directly compared the Neanderthal genome with the genome of today’s humans. This study lets us know that up to 2% of the genomes of modern humans outside Africa are from Neanderthals, thus demonstrating that Neanderthals have mixed races with modern humans. It is precisely because of the ancient human genomes such as the Neanderthal genome that we can begin to explore why we become humans and what makes us humans.
In 2010, the Pabo team performed DNA sequencing of a little finger bone found in Altai Mountain in Siberia. This is an unknown human, named Denisovan for the location of discovery. This is the first time that an extinct ancient human has been discovered through genetic methods, but so far, we do not know her physical characteristics. The Parbo team has found that genes inherited from Neanderthals and Denisovans play an important role in today's humans and are related to diseases such as diabetes , heart disease, depression . In addition, the high altitude adaptability of Tibetans on Tibetan Plateau is also related to the Denisovans. These studies on how ancient genetic mutations affect modern people's physiology are just beginning. In 2014, the Parbo team identified Neanderthal high-deep genome sequences with a quality comparable to that of modern humans. This allows us to understand that not only ancient humans have genetic mixing with modern humans, but there are also many mixings between ancient humans. Their team's work continues, and all of these allow us to witness the rapid development of a new field of research.
In short, Svanter Parbo tells readers that scientific research is complex and nonlinear. And The Neanderthals let us see the birth and development of ancient DNA research as a new branch of science.
As a former doctoral student of Svanter Parbo, I had the honor of participating in the Neanderthal and Denisovan genome projects. Until now, I still clearly remember that in the first genome project I was responsible for, his scientific research style gave me a lot of energy. He was of great help to me establish a scientific research attitude, such as turning huge pressure into strong motivation, constantly motivating myself under the influence of curiosity, and attaching importance to rigorous scientific research style. Whenever I get a result that may change my previous understanding, my first reaction is often "Did I make any mistakes?" I worry that the sample is contaminated or the analysis method is wrong, and then I keep finding fault and argumenting myself.I have tried all the ways to find fault, and after I am sure of it, I can relax happily.
Reading this book, I revisited the ups and downs of many studies at that time. I believe this book plays a very important role in helping readers understand the process of scientific exploration.
Director of the Laboratory of the Archaeology, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Fu Qiaomei
April 2017
Source: (Sweden) by Svanter Parbo. Neanderthal [M]. Hangzhou: Zhejiang Education Press, 2018.12.
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