Mikkel Winther Pedersen

From bones to sediments: ancient human DNA from open-air archaeological sites

This study retrieves ancient human mitochondrial DNA from sediments around bones at archaeological sites, confirming its reliability and offering a non-destructive alternative for ancient DNA research.

Environmental DNA Reveals Reykjavik's Human and Ecological History

This study uses environmental DNA from Lake Tjornin to challenge the narrative of Norse-induced environmental collapse in Reykjavik, showing dynamic human-environment interactions shaped by both cultural practices and external stressors.

Dental calculus as a record of Pleistocene reindeer oral, digestive and dietary flora

This study analyzes dental calculus from Pleistocene and modern reindeer to reconstruct their oral microbiomes, digestive microbiomes, and diets using ancient metagenomics.

Ancient environmental DNA indicates limited human impact on marine biodiversity in pre-industrial Iceland

The paper uses ancient environmental DNA to analyze marine biodiversity in pre-industrial Iceland, finding limited human impact compared to climate effects.

Cleaning the Dead: Optimized decontamination enhances palaeoproteomic analyses of Pleistocene skeletal material

This study evaluates decontamination methods for ancient proteins, finding that a brief bleach wash effectively removes modern contamination without damaging endogenous proteins from Pleistocene specimens.

Microbial sedimentary DNA from a cultural landscape disentangles the impacts of humans and nature over the past 13.5 thousand years

This study uses sedimentary DNA from Lake Constance to analyze microbial changes over 13.5 thousand years, showing how both natural and human factors shaped microbial communities.

soibean: High-resolution Taxonomic Identification of Ancient Environmental DNA Using Mitochondrial Pangenome Graphs

soibean improves species-level classification of ancient environmental DNA using mitochondrial pangenome graphs, revealing new insights from archaeological datasets.

Digesting the data: Proper validation in ancient metagenomic studies is essential

The paper critiques a study that claimed to identify ancient plant and fungal DNA in Puerto Rican coprolites, arguing that the results lack proper validation and cannot conclusively support the dietary claims.

Early Pastoralism in Central European Forests: Insights from Ancient Environmental Genomics

This study uses ancient sedimentary DNA to trace the impact of early pastoralism on Central European forests from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age.

euka: Robust detection of eukaryotic taxa from modern and ancient environmental DNA using pangenomic reference graphs.

euka improves taxonomic identification and abundance estimation in ancient eDNA by using pangenomic graphs and maximum-likelihood methods, outperforming existing tools.

metaDMG - A Fast and Accurate Ancient DNA Damage Toolkit for Metagenomic Data

metaDMG estimates DNA damage in ancient metagenomic data, offering faster and more accurate results than existing methods for complex datasets.

Population genomics of the Viking world

This study analyzes ancient genomes from the Viking Age to understand genetic structure and migration patterns, finding significant foreign gene flow and population differentiation.

Stone Age \"chewing gum\" yields 5,700 year-old human genome and oral microbiome

The paper sequences a 5,700-year-old human genome and oral microbiome from Stone Age chewing gum, revealing genetic and microbial insights.