My Speaker List

How the Black Death Changed Our Immune Systems

A study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, found that people who survived the bubonic plague of the mid-1300s were much more likely to carry a certain mutation. But the mutation has a downside, the study said: increased risk of chronic and potentially debilitating conditions like Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis. 

By looking at the genome of 206 human remains buried in mass graves in the UK and Denmark before, during, and after the Black Death, scientists measured four mutations, called genetic variants, which changed in prevalence after the outbreak, suggesting they either helped or hindered people’s ability to survive.

Read the original article in Science.

View Genomics Speakers

Read More

The Human Genome Is—Finally!—Complete

Biotech
In 2003, the human genome was declared complete, but in reality, the draft was missing about 8 percent of the genome (the hardest-to-sequence) regions. Finally, this May, a group of researchers posted a preprint of the first truly completed genome, a readout of all 3.055 billion letters across 23 human chromosomes.

Modern Life is Messing with Our Microbiomes, But Science is Fighting Back

Microbiology
The microbiome plays a crucial role in physical and mental health. A person's first few years of life are critical in acquiring the microbes necessary for a robust microbiome. Modern life is making it harder to get this exposure, with the drop in interactions due to the pandemic potentially having long-lasting effects. Scientists are researching solutions to restore this essential biological system.