A team of researchers from France, Sweden, and Denmark have identified a new strain of Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes plague, in DNA extracted from 5,000-year-old human remains. Their analyses, publishing December 6 in the journal Cell, suggest that this strain is the closest ever identified to the genetic origin of plague. Their work also suggests that plague may have been spread among Neolithic European settlements by traders, contributing to the settlements’ decline at the dawn of the Bronze Age. Continue reading “An ancient strain of plague may have led to the decline of Neolithic Europeans”
Some people have slightly squashed heads thanks to Neanderthal DNA
People with two Neanderthal genes have heads that are flatter on top and more elongated – like those of Neanderthals themselves. Continue reading “Some people have slightly squashed heads thanks to Neanderthal DNA”
Exposure to cannabis alters the genetic profile of sperm
As legal access to marijuana continues expanding across the U.S., more scientists are studying the effects of its active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), in teens, adults and pregnant women. Continue reading “Exposure to cannabis alters the genetic profile of sperm”
Genetic changes associated with physical activity reported
Time spent sitting, sleeping and moving is determined in part by our genes, University of Oxford researchers have shown. Continue reading “Genetic changes associated with physical activity reported”
Ancient genomes suggest the eastern Pontic-Caspian steppe as the source of western Iron Age nomads
Here we present the ‘Abstract‘ of the corresponding paper by Krzewińska M, Kılınç GM, Juras A, Koptekin D, Chyleński M, Nikitin AG, Shcherbakov N, Shuteleva I, Leonova T, Kraeva L, Sungatov FA, Sultanova AN, Potekhina I, Łukasik S, Krenz-Niedbała M, Dalén L, Sinika V, Jakobsson M, Storå J, Götherström A. Continue reading “Ancient genomes suggest the eastern Pontic-Caspian steppe as the source of western Iron Age nomads”
The first horse herders and the impact of early Bronze Age steppe expansions into Asia
Here we present the ‘Abstract‘ of the corresponding paper by de Barros Damgaard P, Martiniano R, Kamm J, Moreno-Mayar JV, Kroonen G, Peyrot M, Barjamovic G, Rasmussen S, Zacho C, Baimukhanov N, Zaibert V, Merz V, Biddanda A, Merz I, Loman V, Evdokimov V, Usmanova E, Hemphill B, Seguin-Orlando A, Yediay FE, Ullah I, Sjögren KG, Iversen KH, Choin J, de la Fuente C, Ilardo M, Schroeder H, Moiseyev V, Gromov A, Polyakov A, Omura S, Senyurt SY, Ahmad H, McKenzie C, Margaryan A, Hameed A, Samad A, Gul N, Khokhar MH, Goriunova OI, Bazaliiskii VI, Novembre J, Weber AW, Orlando L, Allentoft ME, Nielsen R, Kristiansen K, Sikora M, Outram AK, Durbin R, Willerslev E. Continue reading “The first horse herders and the impact of early Bronze Age steppe expansions into Asia”