Black Death Casts A genetic Shadow Over England

New Scientist ^ | Colin Barras

[Dick Vomer]

I’d of thought it had to do with WW I and the loss of a great percentage of men of marrying age at the time.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Hawaii? (since you included Nova Scotia......).

Australia has a relatively 'diverse' population.

[truth_seeker]

“The epidemic of cocoliztli from1545 to 1548 killed an estimated 5 million to 15 million people, or up to 80% of the native population of Mexico (Figure 1).”

Recently saw Mel Gibson’s “Apocalypto” which was an interesting flick. Greatly exceeded my expectations.

This portrayed a time when if some plague didn’t get you, the Aztecs might turn you into a human sacrifice.

In the 1890s my grandfather’s family was trimmed from 7 to 4 children, by diptheria. Two gone over one weekend. Apparently gargling with kerosene was a treatment. That in Dakota Territory.

Somehow most people, in most societies survive.

[VanShuyten]

It is a great book. She points out that they were Europeans, but many parts of their culture wouldn’t be recognized by Europeans today, such as the fun game of nailing a cat, legs out, to a door, and then taking turns trying to kill it with head butts. Let’s see today’s yutes do that!

[mutley]

Maybe this explains England’s suicidal approach to islamic whacko immigrants, and socialist decay.

[Peanut Gallery]

well, I think it’s only common sense that the Black Death resulted in less diversified mtDNA. If they looked also at the yDNA I think they may find a similar pattern.

As for how it began? Who knows, all I remember is that it was spread by the rat population, and it wasn’t picky about who got sick.

[Red Badger]

...less genetic diversity didn’t result in the black death but it could lead to other problems...

Yes, it could result in the state of West Virginia...........How else do you explain Robert Byrd?........

[mutley]

Maybe this explains England’s suicidal approach to islamic whacko immigrants, and socialist decay.

That's a possibility, mutley. Maybe it also explains the behavior of the soldiers, which were captured and detained by Iran. The hardass gene was extinguished. But now that I think about it, probably not. They were daring in WWII, so it's a modern phenomenon.

[The Lumster]

Does this explain the national dental problem?

[ari-freedom]

yup. what shall it be? a nation of inbreds or islamofascists? not a pleasant situation to be in

[mware]

I remember seeing a documentary about the Black Death.

This one scientist said that a gene from survivors was passed on to their descendant, had an immunity to HIV and AIDS.

[kalee]

Guns of August about the prelude and start of WWI was also good.

Tuchman’s grandfather was ambassador to Turkey under Woodrow Wilson.

[livius]

This, incidentally, has nothing to do with the Spanish presence. The Spanish were largely spared because they were very aggressive against rodents (this was a rodent borne disease) and did not permit them in their homes.

The native population, on the other hand, seemed to have rodents all over the place, to the extent that the Spanish even commented on it in letters they sent home. The connection between various plagues and rodents was of course not known at the time.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Many Spaniards died of the Black Death, though. Moorish realization that the plague was more prevalent in urban centers led to many of them fleeing Iberia for Morocco. This depopulation of Muslim Spaniards made it easier for the Christians to finally expel the Moors in the Reconquista (which culminated in 1492).

[KarlInOhio]

such as the fun game of nailing a cat, legs out, to a door, and then taking turns trying to kill it with head butts.

The pro leagues have taken all the fun out of the sport with too many rules and too much safety equipment. Just the safety goggles alone take out half the fun when a cat gets a paw loose.

[mutley]

The pro leagues have taken all the fun out of the sport with too many rules and too much safety equipment. Just the safety goggles alone take out half the fun when a cat gets a paw loose.

People just no longer know how to have fun.

[sodpoodle]

Smart little buggars - those microbes - they actually evolve!!! http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no01/05-0979.htm The "Spanish" influenza pandemic of 1918–1919, which caused ≈50 million deaths worldwide, remains an ominous warning to public health. Many questions about its origins, its unusual epidemiologic features, and the basis of its pathogenicity remain unanswered. The public health implications of the pandemic therefore remain in doubt even as we now grapple with the feared emergence of a pandemic caused by H5N1 or other virus. However, new information about the 1918 virus is emerging, for example, sequencing of the entire genome from archival autopsy tissues. But, the viral genome alone is unlikely to provide answers to some critical questions. Understanding the 1918 pandemic and its implications for future pandemics requires careful experimentation and in-depth historical analysis.

[Clemenza]

The Gallegos (northern Spaniards) used to build their graneries on stilts, which were then oiled, which served to keep the rats (and the plague) out of the local food supply.

[dwhole2th]

‘Ere, he says he’s not dead.

[evets]

I feel happy!