Together with eight other authors, Philip Francis Thomsen and Eske Willerslev, from the Centre for Ancient Genetics and Environments, Natural History Museum, University of Copenhagen, use a previously published non-destructive DNA extraction method (Gilbert et al. 2007) to retrieve DNA from ancient macrofossils from permafrost sediments and historical museum beetle specimen.

DNA is successfully retrieved from Siberian macrofossils up to 26,000 years old and dried museum beetle specimens up to 188 years old. This reveals that the method has great potential for aDNA research.

Despite the massive diversity of the group, insects are almost neglected in aDNA studies, which have focused mainly on vertebrates, plants and—to a lesser extent—microbes, revealing aDNA research as a powerful tool for testing hypotheses in biology.