Did your ancestor survive the Black Death 700 years ago? Then now you could bear the consequences.
About half of the European population, around 200 million people, fell prey to the Black Death. This devastating 14th-century plague epidemic also left a genetic scar on humanity, the effects of which we still see nearly 700 years later.
Scientists analyzed the teeth of 206 ancient skeletons from so-called plague pits for their DNA and discovery that some mutations in the ERAP2 gene ensured that some people did not die from the outbreak. Someone with the right mutations was 40% more likely to survive the plague.
The gene is responsible for making a protein that cuts hostile pathogens into pieces and presents them to the immune system so that it can recognize and neutralize the germ.
There are several versions of the gene (one that works well and one that doesn’t work). Get a copy of the gene from both of your parents. Two identical copies of the well-functioning version ensured a greater chance of survival during the plague epidemic at that time.
The results are laboratory confirmed with plague bacteria Yersinia plague. Blood samples from people with the right mutations can resist infection much better than other blood samples.
Modern autoimmune diseases
The survivors in turn passed on the mutations to their children so that they became increasingly dominant and thus influenced the genetic evolution of humans. As a result, plague-resistant mutations are more common today than in the time of the Black Death.
However, the ERAP2 variant has a high price today. The problem is that the mutations are linked to modern autoimmune diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis. An autoimmune disease ensures that our immune system is too active and starts attacking our own body.
COVID-19
Recently, we’ve seen a different effect at work from past genetic scars. About 1-4% of modern human DNA is the result of reproduction between our ancestors and Neanderthals.
This legacy has an impact on how we respond to diseases like Covid-19 today.
You can read more about it here:
Migraine related to migration?
A genetic mutation that was supposed to protect early humans from a colder climate thousands of years ago as they moved further north from Africa is believed to be linked to migraines.
After all, there are two variants of the TRPM8 gene. An older variant is common in people in Africa. But a newer variant, which provides a better feeling of cold, is more common among people living in the north, especially in Europe.
For example, this new variant occurs in about 88% of the Finnish population, but only in 5% of Nigerians. Since people of European descent suffer from migraines more than Africans, scientists conclude that this genetic adaptation could be responsible.
But why are colds and headaches genetically linked? Why could a headache be useful in a colder climate? Scientists are still perplexed on this front. They therefore suspect that migraines are an unfortunate side effect of the emergence of the new variant that gave people moving in a colder climate. Unfortunately, for a certain group of people, that lead is accompanied by a vice that pierces your head …
Migraines are also triggered by many other factors and genes. For example, the condition is more common in women because hormones are also involved. Fortunately, there is one consolation: research on the genetic mutation of the “migraine gene” could lead to the development of a new drug in the future.
