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Updated: Aug 14, 2025

High-Throughput Screening of Microbial Isolates with Impact on Caenorhabditis elegans Health
Published on: April 28, 2022
Ancient pathogens provide a window into health and well-being
Cecil M Lewis1,2, Mercy Y Akinyi3, Sharon N DeWitte4
1Department of Anthropology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019.
Abstract:
This perspective draws on the record of ancient pathogen genomes and microbiomes illuminating patterns of infectious disease over the course of the Holocene in order to address the following question. How did major changes in living circumstances involving the transition to and intensification of farming alter pathogens and their distributions? Answers to this question via ancient DNA research provide a rapidly expanding picture of pathogen evolution and in concert with archaeological and historical data, give a temporal and behavioral context for heath in the past that is relevant for challenges facing the world today, including the rise of novel pathogens.
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