This study uses DNA from museum hair samples to confirm Thomas Jefferson's ancestry in descendants of Sally Hemings and Martha Wayles Jefferson, supporting paternity over alternative explanations.

bioRxiv · Sep 21, 2026 · PreprintGenomics

Mitochondrial genomes of Pleistocene megafauna retrieved from recent sediment layers of two Siberian lakes

Peter Andreas Seeber, Laura Batke, Yury A. Dvornikov, Alexandra Schmidt, Yi Wang, Kathleen R. Stoof‐Leichsenring, Katie Moon, Samuel H. Vohr, Beth Shapiro, Laura S. Epp

The paper retrieves mitochondrial genomes of extinct Pleistocene megafauna from recent sediment layers in Siberian lakes, showing that permafrost thawing affects aeDNA preservation and stratigraphic signal.

eLife · Sep 1, 2023Peer-reviewedMolecular Biology

Natural selection shaped the rise and fall of passenger pigeon genomic diversity

Gemma G. R. Murray, André E. R. Soares, Ben J. Novak, Nathan K. Schaefer, James A. Cahill, Allan J. Baker, John R. Demboski, Andrew C. Doll, Rute R. da Fonseca, Tara L. Fulton, Marcus Thomas P. Gilbert, Peter D. Heintzman, Brandon Letts, George C. McIntosh, Brendan L. O’Connell, , Beth Shapiro

The paper analyzes genomic data from passenger pigeons and their relatives to show that natural selection reduced neutral genetic diversity despite large population size, challenging previous extinction theories.

Science · Nov 17, 2017Peer-reviewedGenomics