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Gene. 2013 Jun 19. pii: S0378-1119(13)00770-1. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2013.06.017. [Epub ahead of print]
Paleopathology and genes: investigating the genetics of infectious diseases in excavated human skeletal remains and mummies from past populations.
Anastasiou E, Mitchell PD.
Source
Division of Biological Anthropology, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, The Henry Wellcome Building, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UK.
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to review the use of genetics in paleomicrobiology, and to highlight the importance of understanding past diseases. Paleomicrobiology is the study of disease pathogens in skeletal and mummified remains from archaeological contexts. It has revolutionarised our understanding of health in the past by enabling a deeper knowledge of the origins and evolution of many diseases that have shaped us as a species. Bacterial diseases explored include tuberculosis, leprosy, bubonic plague, typhoid, syphilis, endemic and epidemic typhus, trench fever, and Helicobacter pylori. Viral diseases discussed include influenza, hepatitis B, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), Human T-cell Lymphotrophic Virus (HTLV-1) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Parasitic diseases investigated include malaria, leishmaniasis, Chagas's disease, roundworm, whipworm, pinworm, Chinese liver fluke, fleas and lice. Through a better understanding of disease origins and their evolution, we can place into context how many infectious diseases are changing over time, and so help us estimate how they may change in the future.
Copyright ? 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
PMID:
23792062
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Paleopathology and genes: investigating the genetics of infectious diseases in excavated human skeletal remains and mummies from past populations.
Anastasiou E, Mitchell PD.
Source
Division of Biological Anthropology, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, The Henry Wellcome Building, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UK.
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to review the use of genetics in paleomicrobiology, and to highlight the importance of understanding past diseases. Paleomicrobiology is the study of disease pathogens in skeletal and mummified remains from archaeological contexts. It has revolutionarised our understanding of health in the past by enabling a deeper knowledge of the origins and evolution of many diseases that have shaped us as a species. Bacterial diseases explored include tuberculosis, leprosy, bubonic plague, typhoid, syphilis, endemic and epidemic typhus, trench fever, and Helicobacter pylori. Viral diseases discussed include influenza, hepatitis B, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), Human T-cell Lymphotrophic Virus (HTLV-1) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Parasitic diseases investigated include malaria, leishmaniasis, Chagas's disease, roundworm, whipworm, pinworm, Chinese liver fluke, fleas and lice. Through a better understanding of disease origins and their evolution, we can place into context how many infectious diseases are changing over time, and so help us estimate how they may change in the future.
Copyright ? 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
PMID:
23792062
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
