And though this question will remain unanswered, mummy researcher Albert Zink has already elicited many other secrets from the Iceman. Considering that the melting glaciers will probably uncover even more finds in the future, the idea of preparing for excavations at icy heights in the terraXcube is a promising one for him: the extreme climate simulator can reproduce any climatic condition in the world. It’s director Christian Steurer thinks this is realistic: mountain rescuers are already training in the terraXcube so they are able to operate in extreme weather. 

Conversations between disciplines: interview with mummy researcher Albert Zink and telecommunications engineer Christian Steurer.

"Maybe Ötzi was a mean guy?"

**Recent studies demonstrate the potential to recover ancient human DNA and nuclear DNA from cave sediments. However, the source of such sedimentary ancient DNA is still under discussion. Here we report the case of a Bronze Age human skeleton, found in a limestone cave, which was covered with layers of calcite stone deposits.**

From Egypt to Italy via Germany, Mohamed Sarhan’s investigation of plant and soil microbes could change the practice of bioarcheology as we know it.

Ancient Imprints

A team of researchers led by Eurac Research and the Natural History Museum Vienna gains unique insights into the history of cheese production and complex dietary habits of prehistoric Europeans by studying human paleofeces from the Hallstatt salt mine.

Human paleofeces give unique insights 

Beer and blue cheese already on the menu 2,700 years ago

A study on 20 ancient human skeletal remains from Trentino-South Tyrol, Italy reveals new insights into the diversity of human oral microbiome. 


Newly published study on ancient skeletal remains reveals previously unknown species of microorganisms. 

Methanobreviwhat? 

Un team di ricerca ha esaminato antichi campioni di placca da resti scheletrici rinvenuti in Alto Adige e in Trentino e scoperto specie di microrganismi finora sconosciute.

Ricerca sulle mummie

Dalla placca dentale nuove informazioni sull’evoluzione del microbiota orale

As an archaeogeneticist, Johannes Krause examines ancient DNA from archaeological finds and compares it with genomes from modern times. From this, conclusions can be drawn not only about the evolution of mankind, but also about the pathogens that have always affected us. Here he shares his findings on Ötzi's ancestors and present-day relatives, the plague as a bioweapon, and the benefits of his research for modern medicine.

An interview with the archaeogeneticist Johannes Krause

"We are creating the family tree of human history."

30 years after his discovery, many secrets about the Iceman have been solved, but thanks to new medical and molecular biological technologies, Ötzi and other mummified remains may soon help us better understand pathogens and their evolution. 

Ötzi & Co.

A tre decenni dal suo ritrovamento, molti segreti sull’Uomo venuto dal ghiaccio sono stati risolti: ora sappiamo come e dove visse, come morì, quale fu il suo ultimo pasto, quali malattie e quali parassiti lo tormentavano. Ma gli stimoli per ricerche da condurre nei prossimi anni non mancano. 

30 anni dal ritrovamento: bilanci e prospettive

Ötzi terrà impegnato ancora a lungo il mondo della ricerca

Which microbes lived on and in Ötzi? What did the intestinal flora of our ancestors look like and which pathogens afflicted them? How has bacterial colonization changed over time? Thanks to technological advancements, mummy researchers are now able to investigate such questions. Today’s microbiome research on millennia-old test subjects not only provides new insights into the development of the human species - modern medicine also benefits from it.

An interview with Albert Zink, Head of the Institute for Mummy Studies at Eurac Research.

Ötzi and his ‘tenants’ 

Trillions of microorganisms live on and in humans, most of them in the gut. But our lifestyles are causing the diversity of this bacterial population to shrink dramatically - with far-reaching consequences to our health. Scientists around the world are doing research to better understand the microbiome. And the mummy experts from Eurac Research are also providing an important contribution.

The more modern our lifestyles, the fewer species live in our gut

A gut feeling – how intestinal flora is changing with the times

A study that was published today in Cell Host & Microbe explored for the first time the variation and evolution of Prevotella copri, a common human gut microbe. 

Ötzi proves it

Lifestyle is a threat to gut bacteria

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interview

"Maybe Ötzi was a mean guy?"self.__wrap_b(":Rija3aejlm:",1)

Conversations between disciplines: interview with mummy researcher Albert Zink and telecommunications engineer Christian Steurer.self.__wrap_b(":Rjja3aejlm:",1)

interview

interview

Ancient Imprintsself.__wrap_b(":Rija5aejlm:",1)

From Egypt to Italy via Germany, Mohamed Sarhan’s investigation of plant and soil microbes could change the practice of bioarcheology as we know it.self.__wrap_b(":Rjja5aejlm:",1)

article

article

Beer and blue cheese already on the menu 2,700 years agoself.__wrap_b(":Rija7aejlm:",1)

Human paleofeces give unique insightsself.__wrap_b(":Rjja7aejlm:",1)

feature

feature

Methanobreviwhat?self.__wrap_b(":Rija9aejlm:",1)

Newly published study on ancient skeletal remains reveals previously unknown species of microorganisms.self.__wrap_b(":Rjja9aejlm:",1)

article

article

Dalla placca dentale nuove informazioni sull’evoluzione del microbiota oraleself.__wrap_b(":Rijabaejlm:",1)

Ricerca sulle mummieself.__wrap_b(":Rjjabaejlm:",1)

interview

interview

"We are creating the family tree of human history."self.__wrap_b(":Rijadaejlm:",1)

An interview with the archaeogeneticist Johannes Krauseself.__wrap_b(":Rjjadaejlm:",1)

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Topic

Ötzi & Co.self.__wrap_b(":Rlafaejlm:",1)

30 years after his discovery, many secrets about the Iceman have been solved, but thanks to new medical and molecular biological technologies, Ötzi and other mummified remains may soon help us better understand pathogens and their evolution. self.__wrap_b(":Rnafaejlm:",1)

article

Ötzi terrà impegnato ancora a lungo il mondo della ricercaself.__wrap_b(":Rijahaejlm:",1)

30 anni dal ritrovamento: bilanci e prospettiveself.__wrap_b(":Rjjahaejlm:",1)

interview

interview

Ötzi and his ‘tenants’self.__wrap_b(":Rijajaejlm:",1)

An interview with Albert Zink, Head of the Institute for Mummy Studies at Eurac Research.self.__wrap_b(":Rjjajaejlm:",1)

article

article

A gut feeling – how intestinal flora is changing with the timesself.__wrap_b(":Rijalaejlm:",1)

The more modern our lifestyles, the fewer species live in our gutself.__wrap_b(":Rjjalaejlm:",1)

article

article

Lifestyle is a threat to gut bacteriaself.__wrap_b(":Rijanaejlm:",1)

Ötzi proves itself.__wrap_b(":Rjjanaejlm:",1)

microbiomics
all tags

"Maybe Ötzi was a mean guy?"

Conversations between disciplines: interview with mummy researcher Albert Zink and telecommunications engineer Christian Steurer.

Ancient Imprints

From Egypt to Italy via Germany, Mohamed Sarhan’s investigation of plant and soil microbes could change the practice of bioarcheology as we know it.

Beer and blue cheese already on the menu 2,700 years ago

Human paleofeces give unique insights

Methanobreviwhat?

Newly published study on ancient skeletal remains reveals previously unknown species of microorganisms.

Dalla placca dentale nuove informazioni sull’evoluzione del microbiota orale

Ricerca sulle mummie

"We are creating the family tree of human history."

An interview with the archaeogeneticist Johannes Krause

Ötzi & Co.

30 years after his discovery, many secrets about the Iceman have been solved, but thanks to new medical and molecular biological technologies, Ötzi and other mummified remains may soon help us better understand pathogens and their evolution.

Ötzi terrà impegnato ancora a lungo il mondo della ricerca

30 anni dal ritrovamento: bilanci e prospettive

Ötzi and his ‘tenants’

An interview with Albert Zink, Head of the Institute for Mummy Studies at Eurac Research.

A gut feeling – how intestinal flora is changing with the times

The more modern our lifestyles, the fewer species live in our gut

Lifestyle is a threat to gut bacteria

Ötzi proves it