WASHINGTON — Ancient DNA has revealed a genetic link between the cultures of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia , according to research published Wednesday in the journal Nature .

Forty years after the first effort to extract mummy DNA, researchers have finally generated a full genome sequence from an ancient Egyptian, who lived when the earliest pyramids were built

DNA obtained from the remains of a man who lived in ancient Egypt around the time the first pyramids were built is providing evidence of the ties between two great cultures of the period, with a fifth of his genetic ancestry traced to Mesopotamia.