Traces of Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA May Have Been Discovered on a Red Chalk Drawing Called ‘Holy Child’
Save StorySave this storySave StorySave this storyResearchers from the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project (LDVP) that by analyzing the drawing of Holy Child and other Renaissance artifacts, such as letters written by a da Vinci relative, they have recovered some Y chromosome DNA sequences that appear to belong to a genetic group of people with common ancestors in Tuscany, where the genius and Renaissance master was born in 1452. The findings, first reported in Science, could be the first time scientists have identified DNA from da Vinci himself.The DNAHistorical artifacts can accumulate DNA from the environment and potentially offer useful information about the people who created and handled them. Gathering that material on such precious objects without damaging or contaminating them, though,…
