{
  "id": 28658,
  "title": "Ghost DNA in Living Humans Reveals Two Unknown Ancient Human Lineages",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/07/31/ghost-dna-in-living-humans-reveals-two-unknown-ancient-human-lineages",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-07-31T21:09:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Discover Magazine",
    "slug": "discover-magazine",
    "url": "https://www.discovermagazine.com/ghost-dna-in-living-humans-reveals-two-unknown-ancient-human-lineages-49485"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Ghost DNA, the genetic remnants of two unknown ancient human lineages, has been discovered in the genomes of living humans. These lineages, known as the \"ghost\" lineage and the super-archaic lineage, have left traces in our DNA without any confirmed fossils or sequenced genomes. The ghost lineage, found in a region containing FOXP2, a gene involved in speech and language, interbred directly with our ancestors in Africa. The super-archaic lineage, dating back 1.8 million years, entered Denisovans before reaching modern humans through interbreeding. Both lineages have contributed between 0.5 to 1.1 percent of our genomes, with the ghost lineage present in every population studied. The discovery of these ancient lineages sheds light on a more interconnected history of human evolution, challenging the traditional view of a linear evolutionary tree.",
  "summary": "Learn how researchers uncovered two ancient human lineages without sequenced ancient DNA from either population.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}