FELIX investigates the biological characteristics that could explain the evolutionary success of cats and the development of human-cat interactions.
Rome, Italy
Joined July 2021
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What can cat mummy skulls reveal about life in ancient Egypt? 🐈⬛
Our new paper examines the largest known collection with documented archaeological provenance: skulls from Beni Hassan, now housed at Vienna’s Natural History Museum. 🧵1/4
sciencedirect.com/science/ar…
The skulls reveal violent interactions with humans and between captive felids.
Some injuries were fatal; others healed. We also identified healed and unhealed bite wounds—evidence of aggression between felids rarely visible in the archaeological record. 3/4
ALT The canines of a jungle cat (NHMW C4668), shown on the left, closely match the puncture marks on the left frontal bone and the dorsal portion of the maxilla of the domestic cat NHMW C4626.
ERC Felix retweeted
On #InternationalDayofCats, we are tracing the journey from Egyptian cat mummies to modern house pets.
Researchers are analysing ancient DNA to uncover how cats became our companions, while remaining remarkably independent throughout history.➡️bit.ly/4wbKoeL
#Science4EU
The FELIX International Workshop has just ended! Two inspiring days of talks on cat domestication, paleogenomics, and human–animal interactions. Thanks to all speakers and to @cla_ottoni and Felix team for bringing together this amazing community!
#FELIXProject #ERC #cats #dna – at Rome, Lazio
Website updates📣 ! We’ve added interviews and media coverage of our recent article in Science
👉ercfelix.com/public_outreach…
...and do not miss a free-access reprint link of the paper in our News section!👉ercfelix.com/new-paper-out-a… #OpenAccess #AcademicTwitter @ERC_Research
ERC Felix retweeted
After a four-year journey, my PhD work is out in @ScienceMagazine!
Endless gratitude to the amazing @felix_erc team, all coauthors and collaborators, and my loved ones. Without you all this could not be real! 💛🐱✨
@ERC_Research @NatGeo @unitorvergata2 #aDNA
ERC Felix retweeted
I am thrilled to share that we made it to the @ScienceMagazine cover!!! 🐱🧬 What a journey with this amazing team @felix_erc!!!
Well, finally the cat is out of the bag! (or at least part of a very complex story)🐈🧬. Great job from @_MarcoDeMartino and my team @felix_erc. Huge thanks to all the colleagues and the institutes involved that made this possible! @ERC_Research @unitorvergata @nat_sciences_be
ERC Felix retweeted
Well, finally the cat is out of the bag! (or at least part of a very complex story)🐈🧬. Great job from @_MarcoDeMartino and my team @felix_erc. Huge thanks to all the colleagues and the institutes involved that made this possible! @ERC_Research @unitorvergata @nat_sciences_be
The domestic cat may be a far more recent arrival to Europe than previously thought, according to a new Science study. The findings offer new insight into one of humanity’s most enigmatic animal companions and identify North Africa as the cradle of the modern housecat.
Learn more: scim.ag/3XPZacp
ALT A shorthair domestic cat gazes upward.
🚨 NEW pub in @ScienceMagazine !!! 🚨
🐈⬛🐈 The dispersal of domestic cats from North Africa to Europe around 2,000 years ago 🐈⬛🐈
Our article provides novel evidence suggesting new hypotheses about the history of domestic cats! 🧬
ALT Cover of the vol. 390, issue n°6776 of Science (AAAS) featuring a shorthair domestic cat.
Stay tuned! These genomes tell a fascinating story about the evolutionary roots of our pet companions 🧬😺
🗞️You can read our publication here: science.org/doi/10.1126/scie…
Thanks to all the coauthors! This was a major collective effort, led by @_MarcoDeMartino and @cla_ottoni, carried out for the @felix_erc project and involving many collaborators in Europe and other regions. @ERC_Research #ercfelix @unitorvergata @nat_sciences_be @NatGeo #aDNA 🐈