a novel experimental setup that integrates 2 disparate fields – ancestral sequence reconstruction and experimental evolution. This allows us to rewind and replay the evolutionary history of ancient biomolecules in the laboratory. We anticipate that our combination will provide a deeper understanding of the underlying roles that contingency and determinism play in shaping evolutionary processes.

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scientists in the emerging field of paleogenomics have developed new methods to begin answering some of these questions. By comparing the DNA sequences of many living organisms and working backward, they can infer ancient genomic history, such as when a gene evolved a new function.

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