2023-05-22 17:42:52
Ludovic Orlando publishes, with Éditions Odile Jacob, The Conquest of the Horse. A genetic story. Kristoffer Finn/Stern
PORTRAIT – Ludovic Orlando stood out by sequencing the genome of a 600,000 year old horse. Since then, he has been doing major scientific papers and has just published a book that tells the story of the man by retracing that of his mount.
There are fortuitous encounters that turn a life upside down. The destiny of Ludovic Orlando changed forever in 2010, after the discovery of a 600,000 year old horse in the permafrost of the Yukon (Canada). At that time, it was the age of the specimen much more than its species that interested him. Because he accomplished the feat of deciphering the entire genome, a record for such old DNA! This record was born from a trip: ” After a stint in Lyon, I decided to go to Denmark », he says. His host laboratory is a pioneer in the sequencing of ancient DNA, and participates in a mission in the Yukon. « Not only was I able to analyze DNA 600,000 years old years, but I discovered a completely different relationship to research. He works with the best in his discipline, Eske Willerslev, whom he describes as his master, or Svante Pääbo, recent Nobel Prize in Medicine for his pioneering work on Neanderthal DNA.
Records are destined to fade…
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