Monat: Mai 2022

Network Associates

Richard KIMBER

I am a postdoctoral researcher within the Department of Environmental Geosciences (EDGE).  I am primarily interested in studying DNA-mineral interactions with the goal of elucidating mineralogical and geochemical controls on the preservation of (ancient) DNA. I co-supervise several projects within the MINERVA (Mineralogical Preservation of the Human Biome) research platform that focus on DNA interactions at mineral surfaces and their role in promoting (or inhibiting) DNA preservation in the presence of common degradation agents. By addressing these questions, we aim to improve our ability to find and extract ancient DNA from sediments.

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News

HEAS Member wins Photography Prize

Congratulations to HEAS member Elmira Mohandesan on winning the first prize of the Photo Contest "Pictures of Life (Sciences)", featuring extraordinary and exciting snapshots of research at the Faculty of Life Sciences. Her photograph "Eat the Wind" (credit: Jan Maree Vodanovich) illustrates New Zealand feral Kaimanawa horses being mustered by helicopter, limiting the population size to protect the native ecosystem, in which several endangered species of plants live. The picture will be displayed in the Dean's office, and Elmira will be presented with a professional print of her photo.

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Publications

Ancient DNA refines taxonomic classification of Roman equids north of the Alps, elaborated with osteomorphology and geometric morphometrics

Sharif, M., Mohaseb, A.,  Zimmermann, M., Trixl, S., Saliari, K,   Kunst, G.,  Cucchi, T.,    Czeika, S., Mashkour,M., Orlando, L., Schaefer, K., Peters, J., Mohandesan, E. , 2022, Ancient DNA refines taxonomic classification of Roman equids north of the Alps, elaborated with osteomorphology and geometric morphometrics  Journal of Archaeological Science read more

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News

Poster prize for HEAS member

At the UK Archaeological Science conference 20-22 April 2022 in Aberdeen, Scotland, Dr Magdalena Blanz and colleagues won the Runnerup Poster Prize for early career researchers. The poster, titled "Ratios of strontium and barium to calcium as complementary palaeodietary indicators of seaweed consumption", it describes research done by Magdalena and colleagues during her doctoral studies at the University of the Highlands and Islands, Scotland. This research is published now in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

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Publication by HEAS member Günther Karl Kunst

HEAS member Günther Karl Kunst  co-authored a paper along with Silvia Radbauer from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austrian Archaeological Institute et al. "Palaeogenomic analysis of black rat (Rattus rattus) reveals multiple European introductions associated with human economic history" which was published this week in Nature Communications. There is further discussion on the Max Planck website

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Department of Environmental Geosciences (EDGE) Members

Veer Vikram SINGH

I am a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Environmental Geosciences (EDGE), University of Vienna. I completed my M.Sc. at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India, where I studied clay chemistry and mineralogy to understand the formation of bole beds (clay-rich horizons) present in Deccan basaltic flows. My doctoral research is a part of the research platform MINERVA (Mineralogical Preservation of the Human Biome from the Depth of Time), a collaboration between EDGE and the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology of the University of Vienna. In my doctoral research, I am focusing on understanding the roles of environmentally relevant minerals such as clays, iron oxides, hydroxyapatite and calcite in preserving the DNA against the common degradational agents such as nucleases, reactive oxygen species and ionizing radiation. My work will help develop a better understanding of the role of minerals in the long-term preservation of the human genome in the environment.  

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