Penn State gleaning secrets from soil before war and radiation

Imagine a sample of earth completely untouched by two World Wars, nuclear radiation, pesticides…

🪴 That is what makes this jar of dirt so fascinating and unique. Sampled and saved for nearly 100 years by Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, today, our researchers are uncovering what may be inside.

🔬👩🏻‍🔬 This interdisciplinary team from Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences Department of Anthropology and Agricultural Sciences is studying the soil. Their goal is to see if there are any traces of ancient DNA and what the chemical makeup of this uncompromised sample could be.