Researchers are Sequencing Two Prehistoric Bear Species Using Only Prehistoric Poop Traces

When studying ancient DNA, researchers typically use teeth or bones found in fossils. However, while fossils are useful, they only include a snapshot of an individual's DNA within a genus, not the genetics of the whole population, according to Caroline Delbert of Popular Mechanics.

Aside from presenting new information about black bear origins, the new study demonstrates how scientists can now patch together genomes using environmental DNA rather than fossils to better understand how a population originated, according to Science Alert.

"Analysis of DNA contained in soil has the potential to extend the narrative on everything from species evolution to climate change developments-this is the Moon landing in genomics because fossils will no longer be needed," said Willerslev in a statement.

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