Scientists uncover potential DNA evidence in a centuries-old drawing of the 'Holy Child' and compare it to other Renaissance artifacts. Researchers from the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project, known as LDVP, used advanced techniques to collect biological material from historical objects.
The team, led by David Caramelli, analyzed fragments of letters written by a relative of da Vinci and compared them to other artifacts that date back to the Italian Renaissance. They found Y chromosome DNA sequences belonging to a genetic group that shares ancestors in Tuscany, where the famous artist was born in 1452.
The discovery has sparked excitement among historians and scientists alike, who believe it could be the first time humans have identified DNA from da Vinci himself. While the findings are promising, experts acknowledge that establishing an unequivocal identity for the genetic material is a complex task due to lack of direct DNA samples from the artist.
The LDVP team used a gentle swabbing method to collect biological material without damaging or contaminating the historical objects. They extracted small amounts of DNA and found a mix of nonhuman DNA and sparse male-specific human DNA signals, which suggests that the genetic material could belong to da Vinci.
However, establishing the origin of the DNA is difficult due to the lack of direct samples from da Vinci himself and his burial site being breached in the early 19th century. The researchers are now hopeful that they will be able to obtain further DNA samples with the permission of museums and institutions that house Leonardo's works and notebooks.
The study published on preprint journal bioRxiv suggests that combining metagenomics and human DNA marker analysis could provide a baseline workflow for future conservation science studies and hypothesis-driven investigations into provenance, authentication, and handling history.
The team, led by David Caramelli, analyzed fragments of letters written by a relative of da Vinci and compared them to other artifacts that date back to the Italian Renaissance. They found Y chromosome DNA sequences belonging to a genetic group that shares ancestors in Tuscany, where the famous artist was born in 1452.
The discovery has sparked excitement among historians and scientists alike, who believe it could be the first time humans have identified DNA from da Vinci himself. While the findings are promising, experts acknowledge that establishing an unequivocal identity for the genetic material is a complex task due to lack of direct DNA samples from the artist.
The LDVP team used a gentle swabbing method to collect biological material without damaging or contaminating the historical objects. They extracted small amounts of DNA and found a mix of nonhuman DNA and sparse male-specific human DNA signals, which suggests that the genetic material could belong to da Vinci.
However, establishing the origin of the DNA is difficult due to the lack of direct samples from da Vinci himself and his burial site being breached in the early 19th century. The researchers are now hopeful that they will be able to obtain further DNA samples with the permission of museums and institutions that house Leonardo's works and notebooks.
The study published on preprint journal bioRxiv suggests that combining metagenomics and human DNA marker analysis could provide a baseline workflow for future conservation science studies and hypothesis-driven investigations into provenance, authentication, and handling history.
! im so down for this like who wouldve thought we could literally get a glimpse into da vinci's genes? but idk what to make of it, i mean its all cool and exciting stuff but at the same time theres not enough proof lol. im just curious how they're gonna figure out whether its really him or not tho 
this is like totally mind-blowing! can you even imagine holding something that might have touched da Vinci's hand? 
but yeah, I get why it's complicated - we're talking about stuff that's over 500 years old and no direct samples... 
And what's with this 'gentle swabbing' method - how did they know it wouldn't damage the historical objects? Were they testing it on some old book first or something? 
The idea that we might be able to extract DNA from historical objects is mind-blowing, even if it's not 100% conclusive yet.
What's next, will we see more discoveries like this in museums and libraries? 
It's definitely got me thinking about what other historical secrets we might uncover...
. It's cool that they found some genetic material, but it's like trying to connect the dots with a bunch of random threads. The fact that there's a mix of nonhuman DNA and sparse human signals just raises more questions than answers... what if it's not even da Vinci at all? 
Those museums are gonna want some serious proof before they let their treasures get swabbed, right? And even if they do find more samples, how far back can we really go? 
what's up with that?! scientists are getting close to proving if the holy child drawing is actually da Vinci's work, but they need more proof... or rather, more DNA samples lol. I mean, can you imagine swabbing a 500-year-old artifact? 
it sounds like something out of a movie. anyhoo, this tech could be super helpful for conservation and all that jazz. hope the researchers get the samples they need to make some concrete findings! 
... I mean, what's next? Using forensic analysis on the Mona Lisa's smile 
. In all seriousness tho, this study does seem promising, but we gotta consider how they got their samples - was it really a "gentle swabbing method"? Sounds sketchy to me 
. Still, I guess this is cool tech to explore... as long as they don't start messing with masterpieces next 
they think he might be the one whose dna is in this ancient drawing... but its complicated cuz there arent enough direct samples of his dna or anything 
they've actually found potential dna evidence in a drawing of the 'Holy Child'! 
but at the same time, the lack of concrete evidence makes me a bit skeptical... like, what if it's just some contaminated DNA from another source? 
... I guess we'll just have to wait and see if they can figure out for sure if it's actually da Vinci DNA 
still, the idea of being able to analyze historical objects in this way is like a whole new frontier for scientists and historians alike 
It's not like they have direct DNA samples from the artist, but it's still super promising. The method they used to collect biological material without damaging or contaminating historical objects is genius! 
I'm dying to know what comes next - will they be able to obtain further DNA samples with permission? Fingers crossed! 
But at the same time, it's also super exciting that they found some Y chromosome DNA sequences that match the region where da Vinci was born 
.
, but what if it's not entirely clean? 
I mean, you can't just assume that some old dude's DNA is gonna be found in an old drawing without checking first 
! Maybe they'll get those extra DNA samples they need and we'll finally know for sure if da Vinci's DNA is legit 
. anyways, yay for history nerds! 
. The way they swabbed the objects was pretty cool tho 
. I guess this study is trying to find ways for us to better understand art history by mixing science with conservation