That is so cool!

Ancient chewing gum could reveal how early men and women split up their chores Birch bark tar, used as chewing gum and glue, provides rare window into life 6000 years ago

Birch bark tar, used as chewing gum and glue, provides a rare window into life 6000 years ago. https://scim.ag/4qh8yTI

As an added bonus to the paper being published, I was interviewed about it for Science magazine! Read all about what we can learn from DNA and biomarkers from birch tar, which I so eloquently described as a “super cool sample type” 😅🧬

Ancient DNA and biomarkers from artefacts: insights into technology and cultural practices in Neolithic Europe | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Birch bark tar was widely used throughout prehistoric Europe for hafting stone tools as well as various other purposes. While previous research has mainly focused on the identification and production ...

Birch bark tar is the world’s oldest synthetic material dating to the Middle Palaeolithic. Used for a variety of purposes: Hafting stone tools, repairing or sealing ceramics, decoration and jewellery and bear tooth imprints, indicating they were chewed.

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Sticky secrets: What ancient chewing gum is telling us about Neolithic communities Ancient bones, artifacts and texts offer numerous insights into the past, as does the chewing gum that Neolithic people chewed on and spat out long ago.

Analysis of ancient birch bark tar from Neolithic settlements shows it was used for toolmaking, pottery repair, and chewing, preserving DNA that offers insights into daily life and diet. doi.org/g96xtk

Had a great time at my first #SMBE2025 in Beijing. Really enjoyed meeting (aDNA) scientists from all over the world, and talking about ancient mastics of course! 🌏🧬

The Resin That Remembered: How Ancient Birch Tar Is Rewriting the Story of Neolithic Life New biomolecular evidence from prehistoric chewing gum reveals the intimate daily habits, diets, and toolmaking ingenuity of Europe’s first farmers.

Ancient DNA from Neolithic chewing gum reveals how Europe’s first farmers lived, worked, and ate. Birch tar preserves the intimacy of their daily lives in astonishing molecular detail. #Archaeology #Neolithic #AncientDNA #Anthropology www.anthropology.net/p/the-resin-...

Ancient DNA and biomarkers from artefacts: insights into technology and cultural practices in Neolithic Europe | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Birch bark tar was widely used throughout prehistoric Europe for hafting stone tools as well as various other purposes. While previous research has mainly focused on the identification and production ...

Very excited that the first chapter of my PhD is now published! 🧬 We analysed ancient DNA and biomarkers directly from artefacts, showing how birch tar provides insights into past societies, technology, resources, and health.

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Ancient DNA and biomarkers from artefacts: insights into technology and cultural practices in Neolithic Europe | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Birch bark tar was widely used throughout prehistoric Europe for hafting stone tools as well as various other purposes. While previous research has mainly focused on the identification and production ...

How cool is #RealArchaeology? 🏺

Well, it's "we can track down oral human & environmental #DNA from #Neolithic birch #tar which had been chewed thousands of years ago, telling us about Stone Age diet & what this tar was used for" cool. 🙌

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Bestill my birch-tar-beating heart! 😍
The genetic sex ID analysis backs up other research indicating that using (and likely making) birch tar was something women & men & children did, so that sticky-stained and strongly-scented fingers were probably quite normal in such communities...
#Matriarcha 🏺

Net alsof er geen toilet is dat wel werkt.... Ik begrijp de frustratie wel. Nederland loopt echt achter op dit vlak.

Hé @nieuws.nos.nl jullie schrijven specifiek dat Lisa alleen fietste. Zal je, wanneer de klootzak die dit gedaan heeft gepakt is, niet vergeten te zeggen dat de dader wéér een man is?

Nooit vraag ik om een RT, nu zou ik het erg waarderen.
#womensupportwomen

#RechtOpDeNacht 💔

Fijn dat het cda zijn menselijkheid heeft teruggevonden.

Wat is dat toch met Nederlanders en elektrische fietsen? 'Ben je op de fiets?' 'Maar jij heb een elektrische fiets, hè?' Net zoiets als 'Heb je 50 mailtjes geschreven?' 'Maar jij hebt een computer, hè?' 🙄

I can't begin to imagine what the families must feel. In the blink of an eye, their loved ones are gone.

Human Genome Recovered From 5,700-Year-Old Chewing Gum The piece of Birch tar, found in Denmark, also contained the mouth microbes of its ancient chewer, as well as remnants of food to reveal what she ate

Human Genome Recovered From 5,700-Year-Old Chewing Gum. The piece of Birch tar, found in Denmark, also contained the mouth microbes of its ancient chewer, as well as remnants of food to reveal what she ate (2019) www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...

The White House wants women to have more babies. They're ignoring part of the problem — men. For almost half of all infertility cases, male infertility is a contributing factor. However, the majority of the emotional and physical burden falls on the women.

When a cause for infertility is known, the male partner is solely responsible for 20% of cases & contributes to 30-40% of all cases. Yet many men don't get tested before their female partner tries IVF. And societally women bear the burden of infertility.
www.usatoday.com/story/life/h...

Volgens mij kan het niet veel erger dan we nu hebben. Vallen met die hap!

😬

He thought he was Eddie the Eagle but plummeted straight out of the nest... #woodpigeon

Je moet toch ook bijna huilen van deze kleinzieligheid. Er zou ook maar een pleziertje gegund worden voor asielzoekers, een lach op hun gezicht moeten we niet willen. Het moet een traumatiserende ervaring zijn om in NL te verblijven.

En dan zeg ik: dit is niet mijn kabinet, weg ermee.

En straks dan krijg ik... hoe is het bevallen? Je hebt nog geen antwoord gegeven.... We willen écht weten hoe het bevallen is... etc.

Heb twee dingen besteld bij BOL en ik heb hier al
10 (!) mailtjes over ontvangen. .... We gaan je pakket sturen, we hebben het pakket bijna gestuurd, we hebben het nu echt verstuurd, je pakket komt naar je toe... ja nu echt bijna.... 🥴

Trump Takes a Major Step Toward Seabed Mining in International Waters (Gift Article) A new executive order pits the United States against the rest of the world over the question of who can exploit mineral resources in shared waters.

BREAKING: Trump moves to mine the deep sea. "The ecosystems themselves are really important in the major global cycles that allow the ocean to be productive & to create fish & shellfish & feed people..if we want to mine the deep sea, we have to be willing to give up those ecosystems." -Dr Lisa Levin

Started a new job but had forgotten the minefield of trying to sus out your new colleagues while learning how to do it.

#Omtzigt Eerst lekker deze coalitie aangaan en mede een afschuwelijke voorjaarsnota maken en dan vertrekken. #notamomenttoosoon

Extra bezuinigingen van 540 miljoen op onderwijs en 600 miljoen op de zorg. En dit kabinet was al bezig met een frontale aanval op hoger onderwijs. Dit kabinet sloopt de publieke sector.