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From the moa in New Zealand to the dodo in Mauritius,
從新西蘭的恐鳥到毛里求斯的渡渡鳥，
the arrival of humans has often spelled extinction for tasty but previously isolated animals.
人類的到來通常意味著美味但以前與世隔絕的動物的滅絕。
Many scientists had assumed that the woolly rhinoceros, a shaggy beast that sported an enormous horn, suffered the same fate.
很多科學家認為，毛茸茸、長著巨大角的披毛犀也遭遇了同樣的命運。
The animal was common in northern Europe and northern Asia 30,000 years ago, when the first humans arrived. Shortly after, it disappeared.
3萬年前，當第一批人類到達時，這種動物在北歐和亞洲北部很常見。不久后，就消失了。
But Love Dalen, a professor at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm,
但斯德哥爾摩古遺傳學中心的Love Dalen教授
and Edana Lord, one of Dr Dalen's PHD students, are not so sure.
以及Dalen的博士生之一Edana Lord并不太確定。
In a paper published in Current Biology, they use data from ancient DNA to argue that, this time at least, humans might be innocent.
在發表于《Current Biology》的一篇論文中，他們利用來自于古DNA的數據辯稱到，至少這一次，人類可能是無辜的。
Until recently, information on the fate of the great ice-age mammals had been limited to what could be gleaned from fossilised bones.
直到最近，關于大冰期時代哺乳動物命運的信息都僅限于從骨骼化石中收集到的那些。
While useful, bones can only tell you so much. They can reveal the number of animals of different ages present at a specific location at a specific time.
雖然有用，但骨頭只能告訴你這么多。它們可以揭示出現在特定時期、特定地點的不同年代的動物的數量。
With some species sex can be determined. Occasionally the cause of death can be detected.
可以確定一些物種的性別。有時可以查出它們的死亡原因
In the past couple of decades, though, scientists have learned to tap another, richer source of information: ancient genomes.
雖然在過去幾十年里，科學家已經學會利用另一個更豐富的信息來源：遠古基因組。
By itself, DNA degrades quickly, attacked by water and sunlight. But DNA encased within bones and teeth can survive for longer,
就其本身而言，DNA受到水和陽光的攻擊，降解迅速。但包裹在骨頭和牙齒中的DNA存活時間更長，
especially if those bones and teeth are themselves encased in permafrost.
尤其是如果那些骨頭和牙齒本身被包裹在多年凍土中。
It was this sort of DNA that enabled Dr Dalen and Ms Lord to investigate the woolly rhino's disappearance.
就是這種DNA讓Dalen博士和Lord能夠調查披毛犀的消失之謎。
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