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2022-10-22 Science & Technology

Black Death Alters Human Genome 700 Years Later

[ZERO] The Black Death was one of the world's largest mortality events ever, wiping out 30-60% of the global population as it swept through North Africa, Europe, and Asia 700 years ago.

Newly published research in the medical journal Nature reveals the ancient dead had a secret. DNA samples from victims and survivors of the bacterium Yersinia pestis, also known as the bubonic plague, had distinct genetic differences that helped some survive while others succumbed to death.

Those genetic differences likely altered the evolution of the human genome, as survivors of the plague passed on genes that once helped them survive the awful plague pathogen to offspring and are now linked to a greater chance of autoimmune diseases such as Crohn's and rheumatoid arthritis today.

"We are the descendants of those that survived past pandemics ... and understanding the evolutionary mechanisms that contributed to our survival is not only important from a scientific viewpoint, but can also inform on the mechanisms and genetic determinants of present-day susceptibility to disease," study coauthor Luis Barreiro, a professor of genetic medicine at the University of Chicago, told CNN via email.

In the study, Barreiro and other researchers found that Black Death survivors in London and Denmark had genes that protected them against the plague pathogen. They found one particular gene, known as ERAP 2, was found to be protective against the virus. Before the plague, 40% of Londoners had the gene -- after the epidemic, 50%. The same was for Denmark. About 40% had the gene before the plague, while 70% had it afterward.

Posted by Besoeker 2022-10-22 03:23|| || Front Page|| [11137 views ] Top

#1 But here's the good news -

Barreiro doesn't believe Covid will have the same impact because it doesn't kill across the age spectrum and primarily kills the elderly who aren't procreating.

Posted by Bobby 2022-10-22 07:46|| 2022-10-22 07:46|| Front Page Top

#2 ^being elderly, I won't be rejoicing

Posted by Mercutio 2022-10-22 08:45|| 2022-10-22 08:45|| Front Page Top

#3 Clearly,
Black Death Matters.

Posted by Skidmark 2022-10-22 09:57|| 2022-10-22 09:57|| Front Page Top

#4 Assuming a proper response to an epoch pandemic such as Black Death, how far back in time would we need to go in order to have a proper authority response?

90's? 2000's?

Its the one thing Black Death and Covid have in common - Authority did everything wrong. I like the part where community patrols made sure their neighbors stayed locked in their house, and only certain members of society which allowed the wealthy to continue on were allowed travel.

Posted by swksvolFF 2022-10-22 10:34|| 2022-10-22 10:34|| Front Page Top

#5 We are the descendants of those that survived past pandemics

Unfortunately, we won't survive present politics. Guess what was worse.

Posted by Dron66046 2022-10-22 10:58|| 2022-10-22 10:58|| Front Page Top

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