Svante Paabo — Questions and answers

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What challenging task did Professor Svante Pääbo take on at the Max Planck Institute?

Choices

  1. To build a new institute in Leipzig, Germany.
  2. To extract, sequence, and understand the DNA of ancient humans. ✓
  3. To write a new book about human origins.
  4. To find a hidden treasure in ancient bones.

Answer: To extract, sequence, and understand the DNA of ancient humans.

From page 1

What was a big problem with ancient DNA research before Pääbo's amazing discoveries?

Choices

  1. The bones were too big and heavy to carry.
  2. The ancient DNA samples were usually tiny, broken, and full of modern contamination. ✓
  3. Scientists were not interested in studying old bones at all.
  4. There were no deserts where scientists could find ancient bones.

Answer: The ancient DNA samples were usually tiny, broken, and full of modern contamination.

From page 2

Where did Svante Pääbo first get the idea for working with ancient biological material?

Choices

  1. In a secret laboratory in Germany.
  2. From his studies of ancient Egyptology. ✓
  3. By reading a quote from Louis Pasteur.
  4. When he was looking at a diagram of nuclear DNA.

Answer: From his studies of ancient Egyptology.

From page 3

How did Pääbo and his team stop modern DNA from contaminating their ancient samples?

Choices

  1. They only worked in very dusty places.
  2. They used regular tools without cleaning them.
  3. They built super clean 'clean rooms' and disinfected everything very carefully. ✓
  4. They hoped the contamination would just disappear.

Answer: They built super clean 'clean rooms' and disinfected everything very carefully.

From page 4

What 'audacious goal' did Pääbo's team start working on in 2006?

Choices

  1. To find a few grams of bone powder.
  2. To create new computer algorithms.
  3. To sequence the complete nuclear DNA of Neanderthals. ✓
  4. To transform the Max Planck Institute into a new field.

Answer: To sequence the complete nuclear DNA of Neanderthals.

From page 5

What surprising discovery was made in a Siberian cave while the Neanderthal project was almost finished?

Choices

  1. A huge gold treasure chest.
  2. A new type of ancient animal.
  3. A previously unknown group of ancient humans called Denisovans. ✓
  4. A map to a lost city.

Answer: A previously unknown group of ancient humans called Denisovans.

From page 6

What important secret did the Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes reveal about our ancestors?

Choices

  1. That our ancestors never met them.
  2. That our ancestors mixed and had children with them. ✓
  3. That all our ancestors lived only in Africa.
  4. That our ancestors only ate certain kinds of food.

Answer: That our ancestors mixed and had children with them.

From page 7

What special award did Svante Pääbo win in 2022 for his amazing work?

Choices

  1. A gold medal for sports.
  2. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. ✓
  3. An award for writing the best book.
  4. A prize for discovering old maps.

Answer: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

From page 10