Recent research published in Science Advances and highlighted by various academic sources, including Nature and Science Advances, indicates that the Black Death, which struck Cambridge, England, in 1349, may not have had a lasting impact on the genetic variation of the local population. Despite the severity of the plague, which overwhelmed gravediggers with the number of bodies, the study challenges previous claims that the pandemic shaped the human genome, particularly in the evolution of immune genes. This finding contrasts with earlier studies that suggested a significant genetic shift due to the Black Death.
In contrast with recent studies linking the Black Death with the evolution of immune genes in some populations, new research finds little evidence that the devastating medieval plague caused genetic shifts in the populations of Cambridgeshire, England. https://t.co/LErT6X71TD https://t.co/OpJzOKJ52T
Genetic study offers little evidence of #BlackDeath having selective impact on #geneticVariation in England @ScienceAdvances https://t.co/rrvc8nuC6V https://t.co/F2jWqmhPFo
Did the Black Death shape the human genome? Study challenges bold claim https://t.co/ght6lhUcYt
Genetic history of Cambridgeshire before and after the Black Death https://t.co/qgA04Fs0wE
The Black Death struck Cambridge, England, in 1349. The bodies piled up so fast that gravediggers struggled to keep up. Despite its heavy toll, this wave of plague doesn’t seem to have had a lasting impact on the genomes of the people of Cambridge https://t.co/JnPmEYdq3s
Genetic history of Cambridgeshire before and after the Black Death | Science Advances https://t.co/8vhqBr4EaD
The genetic diversity of ancient Iberian lynxes was lower than that of contemporary lynxes, a paper in @NatureEcoEvo suggests. https://t.co/QNjlRfKMwP https://t.co/KWM3WYo0mH