The identity of the earliest inhabitants of Xinjiang, in the heart of Inner Asia, and the languages that they spoke have long been debated and remain contentious1. Here we present genomic data from 5 individuals dating to around 3000–2800 bc from the Dzungarian Basin and 13 individuals dating to around 2100–1700 bc from the Tarim Basin, representing the earliest yet discovered human remains from North and South Xinjiang, respectively. We find that the Early Bronze Age Dzungarian individuals exhibit a predominantly Afanasievo ancestry with an additional local contribution, and the Early–Middle Bronze Age Tarim individuals contain only a local ancestry. The Tarim individuals from the site of Xiaohe further exhibit strong evidence of milk proteins in their dental calculus, indicating a reliance on dairy pastoralism at the site since its founding. Our results do not support previous hypotheses for the origin of the Tarim mummies, who were argued to be Proto-Tocharian-speaking pastoralists descended from the Afanasievo1,2 or to have originated among the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex3 or Inner Asian Mountain Corridor cultures4. Instead, although Tocharian may have been plausibly introduced to the Dzungarian Basin by Afanasievo migrants during the Early Bronze Age, we find that the earliest Tarim Basin cultures appear to have arisen from a genetically isolated local population that adopted neighbouring pastoralist and agriculturalist practices, which allowed them to settle and thrive along the shifting riverine oases of the Taklamakan Desert.

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BackgroundThis study aimed to investigate the effect of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) on the association of aromatase activity assessed by estradiol-to-testosterone ratio (E2/T) with body mass index (BMI) in women.MethodsThis was a cohort study in five centers for reproductive medicine in China. Data were collected from July 2012 to December 2013. PCOS patients (n = 785) and non PCOS, healthy, age-matched controls (n = 297) were included. Plasma sex hormones including estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) were measured by ELISA, together with BMI and E2/T being calculated, on the third day of the menstrual cycle. Aromatase activity in PCOS patients with different BMI, T and E2 levels were compared.ResultsE2/T was significantly lower (P < 0.05) while BMI was significantly increased (P < 0.05) in PCOS than non-PCOS. No significant difference was observed in E2/T among different BMI subgroups of either PCOS or control. Ovarian aromatase activity was decreased in PCOS patients which was independent of BMI. Hyperestrogen promoted ovarian aromatase activity, while hyperandrogen inhibited such activity, both in a dose-dependent, biphasic manner.ConclusionsOvarian aromatase activity was lower in PCOS, which was independent of BMI. New therapeutic strategies can be developed by targeting aromatase activity for treating PCOS women, especially those with obesity.