"Medieval hospitals were founded to provide charity, but poverty and infirmity were broad and socially determined categories and little is known about the residents of these institutions and the pathways that led them there. Combining skeletal, isotopic and genetic data, the authors weave a collective biography of individuals buried at the Hospital of St John the Evangelist, Cambridge."
"The present study has highlighted the gene-culture co-migration with the demographic movements that occurred during the past two millennia in Central and East Asia. Additionally, this work contributes to a better understanding of the distribution of immunogenic erythrocyte polymorphisms with a view to improve transfusion safety."
A new collaboration📜paper just published in Genome Research. We observed that individuals of the Western African cichlid Benitochromis nigrodorsalis are capable of reproduction even when isolated for years. Now, by analyzing genome-wide SNPs and measuring maternal heterozygosity, we provide clear evidence for facultative selfing in this cichlid species, a potentially adaptive strategy when mating partners are absent. https://doi.org/10.1101/gr.277368.122 #genetics#genomics#evolution@academicchatter
"Y-chromosome results highlight a significant genetic differentiation between the North-Western and South-Eastern part of the Mediterranean, the Italian Peninsula occupying an intermediate position therein. In particular, Sicily and Southern Italy reveal a shared paternal genetic background with the Balkan Peninsula and the time estimates of main Y-chromosome lineages signal paternal genetic traces of Neolithic and post-Neolithic migration events."
"The Y-chromosomal variation in South Kazakh clans indicates their common origin in 13th–14th centuries AD, in agreement with the traditional genealogy. Though genetically there were at least three ancestral lineages instead of the traditional single ancestor."
"The primary objectives of this study were to assess the paternal genetic variation in Altaian Kazakh populations and their population histories, to understand the paternal origins of Kazakhs, and to elucidate the process by which this ethnic group formed."
🇲🇳 " We observed that our studied Mongolians were structured into three distinct genetic clusters possessing different genetic affinity with previous studied Inner Mongolians and Mongols and various Eastern and Western Eurasian ancestries: two subgroups harbored dominant Eastern Eurasian ancestry from Neolithic millet farmers of Yellow River Basin; another subgroup derived Eastern Eurasian ancestry primarily from Neolithic hunter-gatherers of North Asia."
🇮🇷 "The results show an autochthonous but non-homogeneous ancient background mainly composed by J2a sub-clades with different external contributions. The phylogeography of the main haplogroups allowed identifying post-glacial and Neolithic expansions toward western Eurasia but also recent movements towards the Iranian region from western Eurasia (R1b-L23), Central Asia (Q-M25), Asia Minor (J2a-M92) and southern Mesopotamia (J1-Page08)."
"We present 14 new ancient mitogenome sequences from pre-Phoenician (~1800 BCE) and Phoenician (~700–400 BCE) samples from Lebanon (n = 4) and Sardinia (n = 10) and compare these with 87 new complete mitogenomes from modern Lebanese and 21 recently published pre-Phoenician ancient mitogenomes from Sardinia to investigate the population dynamics of the Phoenician (Punic) site of Monte Sirai, in southern Sardinia."
"We have combined a detailed, high-resolution mitogenome analysis with summaries of autosomal data and Y-chromosome lineages to establish a settlement chronology for the Indian Subcontinent."
Homo Sapiens Rediscovered
The Scientific Revolution Rewriting Our Origins
Who are we? How do scientists define Homo sapiens , and how does our species differ from the extinct hominins that came before us? In this accessible, lushly illustrated account palaeoarchaeologist Paul Pettitt shows how the latest scientific advances, especially in genetics, are revolutionizing our understanding of human evolution.
"In the context of European populations, and particularly in Iberia, this haplogroup stands out for its high frequency and its demographic history. Current evidence indicates that the diffusion of this haplogroup is related to the population movements that mark the cultural Bronze Age transition, making it remarkably interesting for population geneticists."
"Here, we survey the genomic evidence for human dispersals during the Holocene in various geographic regions of the world, focusing on proposed expansions linked to agriculture."
"Our study demonstrates a direct genetic link between Mediterranean and Central European early farmers and those of Greece and Anatolia, extending the European Neolithic migratory chain all the way back to southwestern Asia."
"We analyzed a comprehensive autosomal and Y-chromosome dataset of Eurasian and African populations identifying genetic signals of regional LGP population isolation, and contrasted expansion time estimates and dispersal routes in the region with archaeological, palaeontological, palaeobotanical, and climate data."
"Sixty-three skeletons from the Pre Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) sites of Tell Halula, Tell Ramad and Dja'de El Mughara dating between 8,700–6,600 cal. B.C. were analyzed, and 15 validated mitochondrial DNA profiles were recovered. In order to estimate the demographic contribution of the first farmers to both Central European and Western Mediterranean Neolithic cultures, haplotype and haplogroup diversities in the PPNB sample were compared using phylogeographic and population genetic analyses to available ancient DNA data from human remains belonging to the Linearbandkeramik-Alföldi Vonaldiszes Kerámia and Cardial/Epicardial cultures."
🇮🇪 "The Neolithic and Bronze Age transitions were profound cultural shifts catalyzed in parts of Europe by migrations, first of early farmers from the Near East and then Bronze Age herders from the Pontic Steppe. However, a decades-long, unresolved controversy is whether population change or cultural adoption occurred at the Atlantic edge, within the British Isles."
🇮🇷 🇮🇳 "Despite this, we infer that Indian Zoroastrians (Parsis) intermixed with local groups sometime after their arrival in India, dating this mixture to 690–1390 CE and providing strong evidence that Iranian Zoroastrian ancestry was maintained primarily through the male line."
🇵🇱 "Results showed that the level of differentiation within Polish population is quite low, but some differences were indicated. It was confirmed that the Polish population is characterized by a high degree of homogeneity, with only slight genetic differences being observed at the regional level."
🇲🇽 "Most sequenced individuals had admixed Indigenous American, European and African ancestry, with extensive admixture from Indigenous populations in central, southern and southeastern Mexico."