Discovery of world’s oldest DNA breaks record by one million years

Scientists also discovered evidence of animals, plants and microorganisms including reindeer, hares, lemmings, birch and poplar trees

An artist’s reconstruction of Kap Kobenhavn formation two-million years ago (Beth Zaiken/PA)

Scientists have identified two-million-year-old DNA for the first time – breaking the previous record by one million years.

The microscopic fragments, found in ice age sediment in northern Greenland, are twice the age of the previous oldest DNA, which was sampled from a Siberian mammoth bone.