Carles Lalueza-Fox facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carles Lalueza-Fox
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Carles Lalueza Fox
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| Occupation | Biology |
Carles Lalueza Fox was born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1965. He is a Spanish biologist. He is an expert in studying very old DNA. This is often called "ancient DNA." He helps us learn about life from long ago.
He studied biology at the University of Barcelona. After that, he worked in famous places like Cambridge and Oxford in the UK. He also worked for a genetics company in Iceland. Since 2008, he has been a research scientist. He works at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Barcelona. This institute is part of the CSIC and Pompeu Fabra University.
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What Carles Lalueza Fox Studies
Carles Lalueza Fox is very good at finding DNA from old remains. He uses this DNA to understand how extinct animals were related. He also studies how human groups moved around in the past. He is a top expert in the genetics of Neanderthals. Neanderthals were an ancient type of human.
Discovering Neanderthal DNA
In 2010, a big science magazine called Science published an important study. This study showed that modern humans (Homo sapiens) have some Neanderthal DNA. This was a very new discovery. Carles Lalueza Fox was one of the fifty scientists who worked on this project. The study was led by Svante Pääbo.
Studying Ancient European DNA
Lalueza-Fox also led another important study in 2014. His team was the first to sequence the genome of a European from the Mesolithic period. This period was about 10,000 to 5,000 years ago. They found out that this ancient European had dark skin. This was because of genes usually found in Africa. But he also had blue eyes, which are now common in northern Europeans. This discovery helped us understand how human traits developed.
Awards and Honours
Carles Lalueza Fox has received many awards for his scientific work and books.
- In 2001, he won the VII European Prize for Scientific Dissemination. This was for his book "Razas, racismo y diversidad".
- In 2002, he won the VII prize for Scientific Literature. This was for his book "El color bajo la piel".
- In 2005, he won the first international essay prize Esteban de Terreros. This was for his book "Genes de Neandertal".
- Also in 2005, he won the XVIII prize Prismas House of Science. This was for his book "Cuando éramos caníbales".
- In 2007, he received the City of Barcelona Award for Scientific Research.
See also
In Spanish: Carles Lalueza Fox para niños
