This study uses ancient DNA to analyze the evolution of Streptococcus mutans over 8,000 years, showing that some virulence traits emerged with agricultural diets.

bioRxiv · Dec 4, 2025 · PreprintEvolutionary Biology

Effects of ancestry, agriculture, and lactase persistence on the stature of prehistoric Europeans

Samantha L. Cox, Kaeli Kaymak-Loveless, Carson Shin, Timka Alihodžić, Kurt W. Alt, Nadezhda Atanassova, Didier Binder, Morana Čaušević-Bully, Alexander Chohadzhiev, Stefan Chohadzhiev, Henri Duday, Bisserka Gaydarska, Anahit Yu. Khudaverdyan, Rafael Micó Pérez, Nicole Nicklisch, , Iain Mathieson

The paper integrates ancient genomic and phenotypic data to analyze stature in prehistoric Europeans, finding that lactase persistence alleles positively affect stature in ancient populations but not in modern ones.

Current Biology · Nov 1, 2025Peer-reviewedGenetics

The maternal genetic make-up of the Iberian Peninsula between the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age

Anna Szécsényi‐Nagy, Christina T. Roth, Guido Brandt, Cristina Rihuete Herrada, Cristina Tejedor Rodríguez, Petra Held, Íñigo García-Martínez de Lagrán, Héctor Arcusa Magallón, Stephanie Zesch, Corina Knipper, Eszter Bánffy, Susanne Friederich, Harald Meller, Primitiva Bueno Ramírez, Rosa Barroso Bermejo, , Kurt W. Alt

The paper analyzes ancient mitochondrial DNA from the Iberian Peninsula to study maternal genetic changes from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age, finding regional continuity and distinct population history compared to Central Europe.

Scientific Reports · Nov 9, 2017Peer-reviewedGenetics