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DNA obtained from Franklin Expedition crew


Claire.

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Frozen in Time: DNA May ID Sailors Looking for Northwest Passage in 1845

Scientists have extracted DNA from the skeletal remains of several 19th-century sailors who died during the ill-fated Franklin Expedition, whose goal was to navigate the fabled Northwest Passage. With a new genetic database of 24 expedition members, researchers hope they'll be able to identify some of the bodies scattered in the Canadian Arctic, 170 years after one of the worst disasters in the history of polar exploration.

Read more: Live Science

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Wouldn't it be hard to find viable relatives to get enough markers?  We're talking about 7 or 8 generations of DNA diluted with other DNA from the spouses.

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As long as it isn't Bryan Sykes doing this, he'll have them as the love child of Genghis Khan and an ancient Svalbard Polar bear.

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I think they have a good idea of most of the crew members names. I have a book called, 'Frozen in Time', (Owen Beattie & John Geiger) a fascinating account of the fate of the expedition. Three early deaths resulted in graves on Beechey island. These had grave markers identifying the occupants and when they exhumed the bodies they were almost perfectly preserved, with faces still recognisable. These bodies were reburied with respect. This expedition has interested me for a long time, so I am keen to see the outcome of the DNA tests.

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