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1、Don’twashthoseFossils！StandardmuseumpracticecanwashawayDNA.1.Washing,brushingandvarnishingfossils—allstandardconservationtreatmentsusedbymanyfossilhuntersandmuseumcuratorsalike—vastlyreducesthechancesofrecoveringancientDNA.2.Instead,excavatorsshouldbehandlingatleastsomeoftheirbountywit
2、hgloves,andfreezingsamplesastheyarefound,dirtandall,concludesapaperintheProceedingsoftheNationalAcademyofSciencestoday.3.AlthoughmanypalaeontologistsknowanecdotallythatthisisthebestwaytouptheoddsofextractinggoodDNA,Eva-MariaGeigloftheJacquesMonodInstituteinParis,France,andhercolleagues
3、havenowshownjusthowimportantconservationpracticescanbe.Thisinformation,theysay,needstobehammeredhomeamongthepeoplewhoareactuallyoutinthefielddiggingupbones.4.Geiglandhercolleagueslookedat3,200-year-oldfossilbonesbelongingtoasingleindividualofanextinctcattlespecies,calledanaurochs.Thefo
4、ssilsweredugupatasiteinFranceattwodifferenttimes—eitherin1947,andstoredinamuseumcollection,orin2004,andconservedinsterileconditionsat-20ºC.5.Theteam'sattemptstoextractDNAfromthe1947bonesallfailed.Thenewlyexcavatedfossils,however,allyieldedDNA.6.Becausetheboneshadbeenburiedforthesameamo
5、untoftime,andinthesameconditions,theconservationmethodhadtobetoblamesaysGeigl."AsmuchDNAwasdegradedinthese57yearsasinthe3,200yearsbefore,"shesays.Washin,washout7.Becausemanypalaeontologistsbasetheirworkontheshapeoffossilsalone,theirmethodsofconservationarenotdesignedtopreserveDNA,Geigl
6、explains.8.Thebiggestproblemishowtheyarecleaned.Fossilsareoftenwashedtogetheron-siteinalargebath,whichcanallowwater—andcontaminantsintheformofcontemporaryDNA—topermeateintotheporousbones."NotonlyistheauthenticDNAgettingwashedout,butcontaminationisgettingwashedin,"saysGeigl.9.Mostancien
7、tDNAspecialistsknowthisalready,saysHendrikPoinar,anevolutionarygeneticistatMcMasterUniversityinOntario,Canada.Butthatdoesn'tmeanthatbestpracticehasbecomewidespreadamongthosewhoactuallyfindthefossils.10.GettingholdoffossilsthathavebeenpreservedwiththeirDNAinmindreliesoncloserelationsh
