What changed
2026-07-26 08:08 UTC → 2026-08-02 19:33 UTC ·
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In mid‑July Mid‑July 2026 a genome‑sequencing study of the Shroud of Turin identified reported DNA from at least 14 people individuals and a broad range wide array of plant, animal and marine organisms. Human genetic taxa; human markers were split roughly 40 % toward an Indian origin and 55 % toward the Middle East, Middle‑Eastern, suggesting an Indian origin for the linen may have been produced in the Indian subcontinent and later exposed exposure to diverse environments, including post‑1492 New World contacts. environments. A later subsequent July report that month confirmed similar genetic signatures on the Shroud and extended applied the approach same methods to Portuguese “corpora santi” relics, documenting 59 whole‑body relics and using multidisciplinary analysis to trace their material and biological histories. A follow‑up study specimens. Later in July, two metagenomic re‑analyses of the 1978 Shroud samples were published on 25 July 2026 re‑examined fragments taken in 1978, recovering *Scientific Reports*. The first (24 July) confirmed earlier taxa and added chicken, bananas and peanuts, while the strongest mitochondrial signal matched the Ashkenazi‑Jewish haplogroup K1a1b1a of Pierluigi Baima Bollone, the 1978 sample collector, indicating modern contamination from handling without gloves. The second (25 July) reiterated DNA from carrots, wheat, corn, domestic dogs, cats, cattle, pigs and Mediterranean red coral, coral and characterising described a complex bacterial, fungal and archaeal microbiome. The analysis also revealed a predominant human genetic line typical of Ashkenazi Jews, matching the profile of the 1978 sample collector, indicating modern contamination from handling without gloves. A further paper released on 24 July On 1 August 2026 applied modern a PCR‑free next‑generation metagenomic methods to the same 1978 material study led by Prof. Noemi Procopio (University of Lancashire) reported multiple human lineages (Middle‑Eastern, Indian and broadened a modest European component), the catalog same suite of detected species: in addition to the earlier taxa it identified chicken cultivated‑plant and domestic‑animal DNA, bananas, peanuts and a modest (~6 %) European human component. skin‑associated microbial profile. The strongest mitochondrial signal matched authors highlighted the Ashkenazi‑Jewish haplogroup K1a1b1a forensic‑genomics value of Pierluigi Baima Bollone, reaffirming such analyses for reconstructing the contamination finding. The study also detailed a diverse bacterial, fungal preservation and archaeal profile, reinforcing the picture of centuries transport history of handling historic objects, but noted that the DNA evidence still does not resolving resolve the Shroud’s age or original provenance.