E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Richard Lewis / AP file
The identity of the "hobbit" fossil skull, shown here at center, has been debated since it was discovered on the Indonesian island in 2003. A new attempt to extract DNA from a tooth excavated from the island in 2009 may yield answers.
Scientists are gearing up to use a new drilling technique to extract ancient DNA from an 18,000-year-old tooth that belonged to a "hobbit," the mysterious, diminutive creatures that once lived on the Indonesian island of Flores.
If successful, a comparison of the DNA with other species could help resolve disputes surrounding who the hobbits were and where they originated.
Peter Brown, a paleoanthropologist at the University of New England in Armidale, Australia, described and named the species Homo floresiensis in 2004, though he and other scientists now suspect the hobbit's ancestors may have left Africa before the genus Homo evolved.
Other researchers contend the approximately 4-foot-tall hobbits were modern humans who perhaps suffered a genetic condition that causes dwarfing, or were nutritionally deficient.
New technique
Previous attempts to extract DNA from a hobbit tooth excavated in 2003 failed, including one effort by a team based at the Australian Center for Ancient DNA. Some members of that team are involved with the new attempt on a tooth excavated from the Liang Bua cave on Flores in 2009, Nature News reports.
The previous failures may be due to techniques used to extract DNA, according to Christina Adler, a geneticist at ACAD who is leading the new attempt.
She and her colleagues found that while most genetic research on ancient teeth focuses on inner tooth tissue, which is called dentin, the coating of the root, called cementum, is a source of richer DNA. In addition, teams often drill into teeth at the relatively high speed of 1,000 revolutions per minute, which generates heat that rapidly destroys DNA. Going slower — 100 rpm — appears to alleviate the problem.
These results have been accepted for publication in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Adler and her colleagues will target cementum and drill at the slower speed when they attempt to extract DNA from the premolar excavated in 2009.
Chances at success?
Whether the technique will work is unknown. "No attempts at getting DNA from fossils from warm climes have been successful so far," Richard Potts, director of the human origins program at the Smithsonian Institution, told me today via e-mail.
But once a technique to extract ancient DNA is proven successful, he added, "it is only a matter of time before the African roots of Homo sapiens are explored with the technique, which will enable researchers to test ideas that have arisen about Neanderthals, the possibility of interbreeding with Homo sapiens, and other questions besides the intriguing ones about the hobbits."
Matthew Collins, a specialist in ancient protein analysis at the University of York in Britain, told Nature News that the tropical climate on Flores has probably fragmented the ancient DNA in the hobbit tooth too much to yield worthwhile results. The ACAD scientists, however, will press ahead, encouraged by their successful extraction of DNA from a 6,000-year-old pig tooth from the site in 2007, according to Nature News.
More stories on the "hobbit" controversy:
- Ancient hobbit-sized human species discovered
- Scientists say 'hobbit' was not modern human
- Hobbit or not? Species debate flares up
- Virtual reality maps real-life 'Hobbit' brain
- Hobbits linked to nutritional deficiency
- Indonesian villages cashing in on 'hobbit' craze
John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by hitting the "like" button on the Cosmic Log Facebook page or following msnbc.com's science editor, Alan Boyle, on Twitter (@b0yle).
Leave a Comment:
I don't understand...why not simply shatter the tooth?? I understand that examples are rare, but at what point did they become so rare that shattering one in order to retrieve dna would become impossible?
It's simple, smash it so that heat doesn't eliminate the DNA sample, use all the fragments as samples, and your chances of retrieving DNA become better. Simple mechanics here, people!
I think it's just that these specimens are so hard to come by that destroying one (for any reason) is just unthinkable. If they destroy the tooth and DON'T get useful data from the DNA (which is a very real possibility) then a precious specimen is lost forever. You have to also consider that a lot can be learned from the tooth itself. As the field advances and new techniques are developed, who knows what might be learned from the tooth?
Microscopic scratch and wear patterns on teeth can teach us an awful lot about what the tooth's owner once ate. Precise measurements of the teeth can be incredibly informative about the evolutionary history.
I think an even more important reason is so they can prevent contamination of the material. When testing to see if the DNA is modern, it becomes all the more important to insure that modern DNA from outside cannot have gotten in.
TMI
In recent years. techniques for dating organic matter have progressed from the complete destruction of a sample to the loss of only a tiny fraction of a gram in order to get an accurate date of the material. The same concept applies here: it is very possible that techniques to extract DNA from a sample may become less destructive in the next few years and it would be worth waiting for such technology to be developed rather than destroying an irreplaceable artifact.
Would you please stop calling it a "hobbit?" Yes, it's funny, but enough already. It isn't professional.
Steven...
I agree. Most likely, it's a monkey...
Not really pal, if you destroy the tooth, all chances of using it for any other research is gone. Check your forensics. We don't even do that with crime victims now. If that were a viable method, it would have already been used. Suggesting that they destroy this sample makes you look like one of the neanderthals being studied.
So, Pygmy's are hobbits? Its not like small people have never been seen before.
Move along.....nothing to see here.....
True that! I live in the DC area and see people of all sizes (and cultures). If your genes tell you to be 4'1", that's what your're going to be. Now, if those "small of stature" that I have seen around here start to live in little houses with round front doors & built into hillsides, I'm going to start dialing... right Mr. Frodo?
MG, very good point...but realistically, how many of these precious specimens do you think will actually end up in the hands of educational institutions, laboratories, or museums. Fact of life is that many rare objects end up in the hands of collectors (especially bones) and are often lost or find their way onto the black market.
Someone watches too much CSI. Here's a fact -- victims of modern crime have a great deal more DNA to sample...a tooth that is many thousands of years old does not have enough DNA to simply drill a sample. Even DNA evidence that is 30 years old is hard to retrieve samples from, unless it has been stored properly.
Congrats...you went straight from uber-couch potato to jackass in less than a paragraph. Not only are you completely misguided on DNA extraction, but you effectively proved that even some people can turn a scientific discussion into a backwater spitting contest.
Actually, if you research a little further about these specimen, you'll find that the bones collected have shown little to no signs of dwarfism. Most all types of dwarfism affect the development of many bone structures, especially the skull. It is possible that these are examples of early humans that evolved separately, and may actually be the source of genetic disorders that are common causes of dwarfism.
cantakenomore, no it's not a monkey. There are a vast number of anatomical differences between a "monkey" and these specimens. To name a few: the relative size of frontal cortex, the shape of the face, the shape of the hips, the angle of the knee joint -- I could probably go on all day.
Hint: If you think that paleoanthropologists can look at a partial skeleton and not know whether it's a monkey or something along the evolutionary path that led to us, you've either never taken a course in comparative anatomy or you failed that course badly.
Patriot-1611069, the hobbits were not pygmies. Pygmies have brain sizes comparable to those of other humans. The hobbits had brain sizes that were not even remotely close to ours.
Show your style and charm,The popular is what you want, right?
girl , Juniors , Accessories , Style Expert: =====[url=http://www.gotootoo.com/] http://www.gotootoo.com [/url]=====
We’re always mindful of fashion that’s in it for the long haul – those pieces you grab and go without fail every time, that, like a good friend, just couldn’t be more reliable.
Though a trendy handbag is a fun choice for, say, an evening out, an everyday bag that meets your everyday needs is a wardrobe must.
We’re eyeing neutral bags that move from month to month with ease, that suit every possibility with style and that make your life much easier with a host of functional details.
Check them out:===== [url=http://www.gotootoo.com]http://www.gotootoo.com[/url] =====
“ Echocardiography action ” FREE sHIPPING!!!Show your style and charm,The popular is what you want, right?
girl , Juniors , Accessories , Style Expert: =====[url=http://www.gotootoo.com/] http://www.gotootoo.com [/url]=====
We’re always mindful of fashion that’s in it for the long haul – those pieces you grab and go without fail every time, that, like a good friend, just couldn’t be more reliable.
Though a trendy handbag is a fun choice for, say, an evening out, an everyday bag that meets your everyday needs is a wardrobe must.
We’re eyeing neutral bags that move from month to month with ease, that suit every possibility with style and that make your life much easier with a host of functional details.
Check them out:===== [url=http://www.gotootoo.com]http://www.gotootoo.com[/url] =====
“ Echocardiography action ” FREE sHIPPING!!!(^.^)
Don't piss off Gandolph the Grey (White). Protector of all things Hobbit related.
okay i may be saying something really stupid here...but here it goes....why do they assume this was some "hobbit island"? maybe they just found a small person or dwarf....does that mean the whole island is that way?
Parts of several skeletons were found from from different age levels and they are all about the same size. The key evidence is in the bones of the wrist. The "Hobbits" have a wrist structure much more like the "Lucy" fossil than either Homo Erectus or modern humans.
Many more than 'one' of these special individuals were found on the island.
That is possible and was suggested on a TV show on the "hobbits" a year or two ago. Fossils of many dwarf species were found on Flores and similar small islands. IF the other animals shrank as a species do to climate, environment, lack of food, ect., then why not can't the same thing happen to an evolving primate? The teeth and bone fragments are from very few individuals so it is impossible to tell if they are representative of an entire population or just a few individuals.
I wonder if these hobbit-like creatures were the origin of the myth of the Menehunes, the small dwarf people of ancient Hawaii, and maybe Polynesia.
Good connection. You may be on to something.
Dwarfism has been eliminated by noting that the skelstons have none of the characteristics normally associated with it. These were small people. That doesn't mean that they couldn't have been genetic offshoots of H. sapiens, other things being equal.
There are other forms of dwarfism, I for example have a form of hypo-pituitary dwarfism. I am 4'9 and 85 lbs, but in all respects normally proportioned. You are thinking of Achondroplasia, which admittedly is 85% of the cases but certainly not all. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarfism
Dwarfism has not been completely eliminated, that is part of the reason why they want to do the DNA testing.
Get their DNA and clone them into a Hobbit Park
This isn't @!$%#ing China.
Yeah, entertainment. Why not slaves, also?
I hope they get the DNA, I have been really curious about these since I first read an article about them.
A new branch of humanity would be most welcome.
With the fast paced advances in science, maybe it would be possible to clone them. As Max108 suggested we could build a small town for them to abide in. Everything could be downscaled for their comfort. Each hobbit could be given their own home. I'm thinking the whole project could be called "stay free mini pads".
Now THAT put some life into this dry feed !!
Come on, this isn't a book of fiction. Would you want to be gawked at by a bunch of "giants" as if you were in a zoo?
Diane, people don't go to China Town, in any large city to gawk. They go to celebrate the culture, and support their economy. I am an extremely handsome man and people gawk at me all the time. I kind of like it.
This stuff is so interesting I cant get enough of it, always been a lover of science and the advancement of knowledge. And digging for our beginnings is the holy grail. Its would be amazing if they could get some DNA, imagine what it possibly could tell us about ourselves.. I cant wait to hear more about these hobbits.
In the immortal words of Mr.Spock (StarTrek) Fascinating!
ooooooooooohhhhhh
um, no
If DNA is found, what would really be interesting is how much repetitive DNA/junkDNA is found. My published research indicates that "SIZE" (and biomass) is controlled by repetitive/junk DNA, so these hobbitts, if they are a form of humans, should, theoretically, have less repetitive/junk DNA that modern humans have.
If the teeth in the skull shown in the photograph are representative, Dental HMO's have been around for far longer than previously thought!