Modern DNA Lab

The Modern DNA Lab of Eurac Research is an essential facility for the development and optimization of molecular techniques in ancient DNA research. The modern DNA laboratory offers the opportunity to work with high copy number molecular products and to test new approaches before being directly applied to precious bio-archaeological material and individuals. The principal method applied in this laboratory is targeted enrichment, which is a method to isolate human or microbial DNA from complex samples. In cases where endogenous DNA content is low, this molecular technique has a range of approaches and can, for example, allow the researchers to focus on population genetics, markers of genetic disease and complete genome reconstruction of ancient pathogens. To avoid sample cross contamination, the modern lab is physically separated from the dedicated ancient DNA clean room.