Scientists Extract DNA from Drawing That Could Connect to Leonardo da Vinci

Scientists have extracted DNA from a possible Leonardo da Vinci painting, which could provide a genetic link to one of the most legendary figures on Earth. In a paper posted on a preprint database on Tuesday that has not yet been peer-reviewed, researchers from the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project (LDVP) said there may be a connection between the chalk sketches titled “Chalk Sketch.” Holy Child and material believed to contain traces of members of the artist’s extended family.

It is reported science“,” The preprint concluded that the Y chromosome sequence in the artwork and a letter written by Leonardo’s cousin both belong to a genetic group of people who share a common ancestor in Tuscany, where Leonardo was born. ”

Many questions remain, starting with the painting itself: acquired in the early 2000s by the late art dealer Fred Kline, Holy Child Some observers attribute it to Leonardo, but others believe it may have been created by a student. There are also biological problems that are no easy task to establish and verify. A geneticist told science The findings involve Holy Child “There is far from evidence,” while another said “establishing a clear identity… is extremely complex.”

This is partly due to the lack of any previously known DNA from Leonardo. The original tomb in France where his remains were kept was destroyed during the French Revolution, and he has no direct descendants. But S. Blair Hedges, a biologist not affiliated with the LDVP who has been working on DNA sampling of medieval manuscripts, called the publication “a great paper. Cutting-edge stuff. They put together an impressive platform of methods that the field can build on.”

According to records scienceLDVP is part of the recent “artomics” movement, which facilitates the scientific identification of artworks. Stefan Simon, director of the Ratgen Research Laboratory at the Staatsmuseum in Berlin, who is not involved in the da Vinci project, said the field “opens not only a new window, but a whole new world.”

“Leonardo is known to have used his fingers and a paintbrush when painting, so it would be possible to find the epidermal cells that mixed with the colors,” said LDVP chair Jesse Ausubel, an environmental scientist at Rockefeller University who studies marine biodiversity.