DNA reviews: Ancient DNA

The rapid development, success, and occasional failures of forensic DNA profiling are highly publicised, and as a consequence are well known to the scientific and public communities alike. Over the same period of time that forensic DNA typing has accelerated onto the scene, another related discipline has been born and has made equally, or perhaps, even more groundbreaking achievements in the same arena; that is the science of (bio)molecular archaeology. This review describes the extreme complications of ancient DNA analysis and highlights some of the major achievements that have been accomplished in this field. The nature of DNA degradation and possible solutions to this problem are discussed.