It is the dream of all researchers working with ancient DNA to identify prior to DNA extraction from bone the specimens or specific zones within them that contain the highest proportion of endogenous DNA. As it impacts the sacrifice of precious ancient specimens and the financial support needed for the analyses, the question is of high importance to the scientific field of palaeogenomics. The "Holy Grail" of palaeogenomics was reached when Cristina Gamba et al. () discovered that it was in the petrosal part of the temporal bone, the densest part of the mammalian skeleton, where DNA is exceptionally well preserved. As a consequence, osteological collections experienced a rush from palaeogenomicists to "harvest" these precious bone parts. In this issue of Molecular Ecology Resources, Alberti et al. () describe the discovery of another promising source of relatively well-preserved endogenous DNA, that they had identified through computed tomography (CT scans), the outermost layer of cortical bone. These bones being larger and more abundant than petrous bones, this discovery increases markedly the source material for high-quality palaeogenomic studies and releases the pressure on osteological collections.

中文翻译：

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古代DNA：追求最好。

所有研究古代DNA的研究人员的梦想都是在从骨骼中提取DNA之前鉴定出内源性DNA比例最高的标本或特定区域。由于这个问题影响了珍贵的古代标本的牺牲和分析所需的资金支持，因此，这个问题对于古基因组学的科学领域具有高度重要性。克里斯蒂娜·甘巴（Cristina Gamba）等人（1999）提出了古基因组学的“圣杯”。（）发现它位于颞骨的岩石部分，即哺乳动物骨骼最密集的部分，其中DNA被很好地保存。结果，古生物学家急于寻找“收获”这些珍贵的骨骼部分的骨科收藏。在本期《分子生态资源》中，Alberti等人。（）描述了人们发现的另一有希望的相对良好保存的内源性DNA来源，它们是通过计算机断层扫描（CT扫描）（皮质骨的最外层）确定的。这些骨头比石质骨头更大，更丰富，这一发现显着增加了高质量古基因组学研究的原材料，并释放了对骨科学收藏的压力。