Poinar

“Termites live on cellulose, mostly from the dead wood they chew, but they depend on protozoa in their gut to provide the enzymes that can digest the wood,” Poinar said.

Termites And Protozoa Discovered Together In Ancient Amber | Impact Lab 2009

Even more primitive termites may have fed on a range of things they could digest themselves, Poinar said, but eventually they acquired protozoa that dramatically increased their ability to digest cellulose, and through evolutionary processes they came to depend on it.

Termites And Protozoa Discovered Together In Ancient Amber | Impact Lab 2009

Devoting weekends, evenings and their own money to the spurned project, Poinar and like-minded enthusiasts formed the Extinct DNA Study Group.

Here Come The Dnasaurs 2008

But when Poinar and colleagues set out to extract DNA from ancient creatures like those locked in amber, "granting agencies refused to fund us," says Poinar.

Here Come The Dnasaurs 2008

"'Jurassic Park' has at least one big toe in real biological research," says Poinar.

Here Come The Dnasaurs 2008

In 1982, Poinar and his wife, Roberta Hess, discovered that amber did not contain merely the imprint of insects, nor even just their dried-out remains.

Here Come The Dnasaurs 2008

Poinar, told him of a site at Bear Creek in the Yukon Territory in Canada where ancient DNA could be found uncontaminated by anything from the modern world.

NYT > Home Page By NICHOLAS WADE 2011

"With any ancient pathogen, understanding why it might have been so virulent in the past is important to be able to predict possible reemergence today," Poinar said.

Breaking News: CBS News 2011

While the study was not able to sequence the entire genome of the medieval plague, the amount they were able to study confirmed it is the same disease as the Y. pestis circulating today, Poinar said.

Breaking News: CBS News 2011

Poinar, told him of a site at Bear Creek in the Yukon Territory in Canada where ancient DNA could be found uncontaminated by anything from the modern world.

NYT > Home Page By NICHOLAS WADE 2011