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Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Ancient animal bones unlock clues about Bronze Age plague
Thousands of years before the Black Death killed one-third of Europe's population in the 14th century, a mysterious and prehistoric form of the plague spread throughout Eurasia. This prehistoric pathogen that is only known from ancient DNA samples ran rampant about 5,000 years ago, ultimately vanishing from the archeological record about 2,000 years later. Called the Late Neolithic Bronze Age (LNBA) plague lineage, scientists have long been puzzled about where the strain came from. Now, we are close to an answer. For the first time, archeologists and anthropologists have identified this ancient plague in an animal: a 4,000-year-old domesticated sheep excavated in present-day Russia. The plague appears to have infected both humans and sheep that spread from a wild animal source, just like the bubonic plague. The increased sheep herding in the area during the Bronze Age brought humans into closer contact with the animals and may have led to the spread of this disease. The findings are detailed in a study published August 11 in the journal Cell and reveal that sheep played a role in this disease spillover. Plague origins Most illnesses that infect humans today have a zoonotic origin. At some point in time, they jumped from an animal to a human in a process called a spillover event. For example, migratory birds were the original reservoir for flu and ebola that spilled over from bats. Many of the infectious diseases caused by these pathogens emerged within the last 10,000 years. That timing overlaps with the domestication of livestock and pets. Studying the pathogen that arises from ancient animals using the DNA left behind offers a way for scientists to investigate the emergence of human infectious disease in the past and can inform modern spillover events. Plague is one of the most deadly zoonotic diseases in history. It is spread by the fleas living on rats, and has killed millions of people throughout history. However, the older LNBA lineage that first began to spread 5,000 years ago is genetically distinct from the more well-known Black Death from the 14th century. It infected human populations for close to 3,000 years before it vanished. Interestingly, LNBA lineage lacks the key genetics for fleas to transmit the plague-causing bacterium Yersinia pestis transmission that are found in other historic and modern plague strains. Since it does not spread via fleas like the bubonic plague, another animal was likely involved. But which animal? 'One of the first steps in understanding how a disease spreads and evolves is to find out where it's hiding, but we haven't done that yet in the ancient DNA field,' study co-author and doctoral candidate Ian Light-Maka, said in a statement. 'We have over 200 Y. pestis genomes from ancient humans, but humans aren't a natural host of plague.' Ancient teeth and livestock To figure out how the infection persisted and spread over thousands of years in Eurasia, an international team of researchers studied the bones and teeth of Bronze Age livestock that were uncovered at an archeological site called Arkaim. The site in present-day Russia was once occupied by the Sintashta-Petrovka culture, who were known for innovations in cattle, sheep, and horse husbandry. At the site, they identified a 4,000-year-old sheep that was infected with the same LNBA lineage of Y. pestis that was infecting people at the time. 'Arkaim was part of the Sintashta cultural complex and offered us a great place to look for plague clues: they were early pastoralist societies without the kind of grain storage that would attract rats and their fleas – and prior Sintashta individuals have been found with Y. pestis infections. Could their livestock be a missing link?' added study co-author and University of Arkansas anthropologist Taylor Hermes. Back in the lab, the team compared the ancient Y. pestis genome from the sheep with other ancient and modern genomes. The sheep Y. pestis genome was a very close match to one that had infected a human at a nearby site at around the same time. 'If we didn't know it was from a sheep, everyone would have assumed it was just another human infection – it's almost indistinguishable,' said study co-author and Harvard University archeologist Christina Warinner. According to the team, this indicates that both humans and sheep were being with the same population of Y. pestis. But were the sheep infecting humans in some way or vice versa? Archaeological and comparative approaches could provide some answers to that puzzle. In parts of the world where Y. pestis is still endemic, sheep can become infected if they come in direct contact with carcasses of infected animals including rodents. Rats and mice are natural reservoirs of the pathogen and local plague outbreaks can arise in humans if infected sheep are not properly butchered or cooked. This type of scenario could have spread LNBA plague in prehistoric times, linking human and sheep infections. 'The Sintashta-Petrovka culture is famous for their extensive herding over vast pastures aided by innovative horse technologies, and this provided plenty of opportunity for their livestock to come into contact with wild animals infected by Y. pestis,' added Warinner. 'From then on it is just one more short hop into humans.' The speed of spread Despite the new findings, some major questions remain unanswered. It is still unclear exactly how the pathogen traveled hundreds of miles in relatively short periods of time, as this distance was too far for sick humans or terrestrial animals to travel at the time. It is also not clear which wild animal the domesticated sheep caught the bacterium from. 'We can show that the ancient lineage evolved under elevated pressure, which is in contrast to the Y. pestis still found today,' Felix M. Key, a study co-author and genomicist at the Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology added. 'Moreover, the ancient sheep as well as human infections are likely isolated spillovers from the unknown reservoir, which remains at large. Finding that reservoir would be the next step.' However, the search for pathogens in ancient animal remains is only just beginning. Archaeological digs both past and present can produce tens of thousands of animal bones. Archaeologists could potentially dig into the bones from past excavations to look at what ancient pathogens lurk inside. 'I think there will be more and more interest in analyzing these collections,' said Key. 'They give us insights that no human sample can.' Solve the daily Crossword
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
2 bullet cartridges found at Red Fort
Two old bullet cartridges and a circuit board were recovered from the Red Fort premises on Friday during an advanced combing operation by security agencies, police officers aware of the matter said. The discovery comes just eight days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address the nation from the fort on Independence Day. The Red Fort has been under the control of security agencies since mid-July. A first information report (FIR) under relevant sections of the Arms Act was registered at Kotwali police station against unidentified persons, and investigators are now trying to determine how these items made their way into the heavily guarded monument, police said. The Red Fort has been under the control of security agencies since mid-July, with public access shut from around July 15 as part of heightened security measures in the run-up to August 15 – when PM Modi is scheduled to hoist the Tricolour and address the nation from the ramparts of the historic Mughal-era fort. Deputy commissioner of police (north) Raja Banthia confirmed the registration of the FIR and said investigations were underway. According to one officer, who asked not to be named, the cartridges – one 9mm and another .315 calibre – were found near the fort's western wall. 'They appeared old and partially rusted. The bullets have been sent to a forensic lab to determine how long they had been there and whether they had been used,' the officer said. The circuit board may have been part of older lighting equipment used during previous events at the fort. However, investigators are not ruling out the possibility of sabotage or mischief, the officer added. This incident follows at least two other security concerns reported from the Red Fort in the past week. In one case, members of the Delhi Police's Special Cell reportedly carried a dummy bomb into the Red Fort during a surprise security preparedness drill. The dummy device passed through a door-frame metal detector without being detected, prompting the suspension of seven police personnel posted at the spot. A senior officer said the lapse raised concerns about the effectiveness of security deployment at the site. In another incident earlier this week, five Bangladeshi nationals were caught attempting to enter the Red Fort using forged identity documents.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Changes in DNA can help determine heart risks of type 2 diabetes patients
London: New findings from a Swedish study of people with recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes could help doctors identify those at low risk for developing cardiovascular diseases versus those at higher risk. Overall, people with type 2 diabetes are up to four times more likely to experience a heart attack , stroke, or another major cardiovascular event, compared to people without diabetes. The 752 volunteers in the new study all had new diagnoses of type 2 diabetes, and none had a history of heart disease. During roughly seven years of follow-up, 102 of them suffered serious cardiovascular complications. By analyzing blood samples obtained from participants at regular intervals, the researchers were able to track chemical changes in DNA over time. Such changes, called DNA methylation , "control which genes are active or turned off in our cells, and when it does not work properly, it can contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease," study leader Charlotte Ling of Lund University said in a statement. The researchers found more than 400 sites with altered DNA methylation in blood. They were able to use 87 sites to develop a score scale that can assess patients' risk of developing serious cardiovascular complications. The scale's negative predictive value - its accuracy at identifying patients at low risk of a major cardiovascular event - was 96%, researchers reported in Cell Reports Medicine. But the scale was only about 32% accurate at identifying patients at high risk - possibly because the study has not yet followed them for a long enough period. Still, the researchers wrote, their screening test "seems to be one of the most reliable prognostic tools" for discriminating patients with type 2 diabetes at low cardiac risk from those at possibly high risk, "allowing personalized treatment, optimized healthcare costs, and reduction of therapy-related side effects and patients' worries." Healthcare providers currently look at clinical variables such as age, gender, blood pressure, smoking, harmful cholesterol, long-term blood sugar and kidney function to estimate the risk of future heart disease, "but it is a rather blunt tool," Ling said. "If you add DNA methylation, you have a much better measure of a future risk." COMPOUND IN MAPLE SYRUP FIGHTS TOOTH DECAY A natural compound in the syrup from maple tree sap can help fight tooth decay, according to new findings that might lead to oral care products with no alcohol and fewer chemicals, researchers said. The compound known as epicatechin gallate , or ECG, prevents cavity-causing bacteria from growing on teeth and "is a powerful and safe alternative to traditional plaque-fighting agents," the researchers said in a statement. "Its natural abundance, affordability and lack of toxicity make it especially promising for inclusion in oral care products such as mouthwashes, offering a safer option for young children, who often accidentally swallow mouthwash," they added. The idea for their study grew from their discovery in an unrelated experiment that Listeria bacteria - a common cause of food poisoning - can grow and form biofilms on most plants and wood but not on maple. Working with maple sap and diluted maple syrup, the researchers isolated the compound that inhibits Listeria attachment and experimented to see whether it would have similar effects on Streptococcus mutans , the bacteria that cause biofilms on teeth, also known as plaque, and dental cavities. The researchers first tested their theory in computer models, according to a report in Microbiology Spectrum. Next, they confirmed that ECG inhibits the cavity-causing bacteria in test tube experiments. Finally, they determined that it blocks S. mutans from forming biofilms on plastic teeth and on disks made from hydroxyapatite, the substance in real tooth enamel. ECG is also present in green and black tea, in much higher amounts than in maple sap or syrup. Drinking green tea has long been associated with lower rates of cavities, the authors said. "Our findings suggest that ECG or (similar compounds with similar effects) could be added to dental products to help prevent cavities through an antibiofilm mechanism," study leader Mark Gomelsky of the University of Wyoming said in a statement. "This is different from traditional approaches, which rely on killing bacteria with alcohol, disinfectants or essential oils, or on fluoride to remineralize enamel."
The Star
5 days ago
- Health
- The Star
Israeli-U.S. study stops cancer weight loss via nerve intervention
JERUSALEM, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Israeli and U.S. researchers have discovered that disrupted brain-liver communication drives severe weight loss, or cachexia, in cancer patients, Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science said Thursday in a statement. The study, published in Cell, found that cancer-induced inflammation damages the vagus nerve, a major pathway between the brain and liver, triggering the depletion of muscle and fat linked to nearly a third of cancer deaths, read the statement. Researchers blocked the right vagus nerve in mice non-invasively, preventing cachexia and improving their response to chemotherapy, read the statement, noting that the method boosted survival rates and overall health, with human trials underway. According to the researchers, using clinically approved technologies, the study promises rapid patient access, offering hope for up to 85 percent of cancer patients suffering from extreme weight loss in some types of cancer, such as pancreatic and lung tumors.
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Business Standard
5 days ago
- General
- Business Standard
Maha NEET UG 2025 merit list announced: 60,021 qualify for next round
The Maharashtra State Common Entrance Test (MHT CET) Cell has released the provisional merit list for NEET UG 2025 Round 1 admissions to MBBS and BDS courses under Group A. The list was published on August 8 and is now available on the official portal — Counselling for admission to 85% of state quota seats is being conducted by the State CET Cell, Maharashtra, which is the official counselling conducting authority for MBBS/BDS courses. For MCC counselling, the remaining 15% of seats are under AIQ. An overall of 60,021 candidates have become eligible to participate in the counselling process and take admission to MBBS and BDS programmes. Maharashtra NEET UG 2025 dates • NEET UG 2025 exams- May 4, 2025. • NEET UG 2025 result declaration- June 14, 2025. • Maharashtra NEET Counselling Online Registration: July 23, 2025, to August 4, 2025 • Deadline to Pay Registration Fee: August 5, 2025 • Deadline to Upload Documents: August 5, 2025 • Release of Provisional Merit List and Seat Matrix: August 6, 2025 • Choice Filling and Locking: August 8 to August 11, 2025 • Seat Allotment Result: August 13, 2025 Maharashtra NEET 2025: How to fill in the Choices online? • Go to the Official Website: • Log in by putting your Application ID and Password to log in. • Access the 'Choice Filling' segment for 'CAP Round 1' • Choose Courses and Colleges through the list of available MBBS/BDS colleges. • Choose your preferred colleges and arrange them in priority order. • Save and Lock Choices • Download the Confirmation and print the choice filling confirmation slip for later reference. Maharashtra NEET UG 2025: Details mentioned on the Merit List • Candidate's Name • Counselling Form Number • Category (e.g., OBC, SC, ST) • NEET Roll Number • NEET All India Rank • Gender Maharashtra NEET UG 2025 counselling: Guidelines • The official announcement states that applicants under the NRI quota would only be taken into consideration for admission following their approval by the Admission Regulating Authority (ARA). • After being verified by the Medical Board, applicants who fall within the PwD category will be considered qualified. To receive the benefits, candidates claiming constitutional or specified reservation categories must provide valid documentation. • Candidates must first self-verify the seat allocation they received in CAP round I by accepting the declaration through their login and attesting that the claims they made in the application form regarding their qualifying marks, category, gender, reservation, and specific reservation, among other things, are accurate. They must also upload relevant documents to support their claims. • Candidates who self-froze their allotment in Round I using their login and were given a seat other than their first preference must accept the seat and pay the seat acceptance fee online. These candidates will not be allowed to compete in later rounds. • Candidates who were given a seat that was not their first choice and who wish to improve in later rounds must claim the seat that was assigned to them in Round I by selecting the "Not Freeze" option for improvement. They must also pay the seat acceptance fee by logging in online.
