DNA ties Franklin expedition sailors to living descendants, naming four Erebus crew and one Terror sailor

DNA from living descendants identified four Erebus crew members and the sole Terror sailor among the remains from Franklin’s 1845 expedition, solving long-standing misidentifications and offering clues about why the crew deserted their ships. The study by researchers at the University of Waterloo and Lakehead University used Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA to match bones to relatives, building on earlier identifications of John Gregory and James Fitzjames, with ongoing efforts to name more crew and humanize the tragedy.