Scientists extracted a 3,600-year-old DNA strand from the world’s oldest cheese, found on Bronze Age mummies in China’s Tarim Basin. The kefir cheese, a modern cream cheese substitute, was smeared around the heads and necks of the Xiaohe people. The study, published in Cell, revealed cow and goat DNA, and fungal bacteria similar to modern kefir grains. This discovery helps understand ancient diets and shows the evolution of cheese-making bacteria, previously thought exclusive to Russia’s Caucasus Mountains, over 3,000 years.