How the twins do it: STR and the clock paradox

Copyright © Graham NerlichGraham Nerlic

Paleopathology of Human Tuberculosis and the Potential Role of Climate

Both origin and evolution of tuberculosis and its pathogens (Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex) are not fully understood. The paleopathological investigation of human remains offers a unique insight into the molecular evolution and spread including correlative data of the environment. The molecular analysis of material from Egypt (3000–500 BC), Sudan (200–600 AD), Hungary (600–1700 AD), Latvia (1200–1600 AD), and South Germany (1400–1800 AD) urprisingly revealed constantly high frequencies of tuberculosis in all different time periods excluding significant environmental influence on tuberculosis spread. The typing of various mycobacteria strains provides evidence for ancestral M. tuberculosis strains in Pre- to early Egyptian dynastic material (3500–2650 BC), while typical M. africanum signatures were detected in a Middle Kingdom tomb (2050–1650 BC). Samples from the New Kingdom to Late Period (1500–500 BC) indicated modern M. tuberculosis strains. No evidence was seen for M. bovis in Egyptian material while M. bovis signatures were first identified in Siberian biomaterial dating 2000 years before present. These results contraindicates the theory that M. tuberculosis evolved from M. bovis during early domestication in the region of the “Fertile Crescent,” but supports the scenario that M. tuberculosis probably derived from an ancestral progenitor strain. The environmental influence of this evolutionary scenario deserves continuing intense evaluation

Paleopathology of Human Tuberculosis and the Potential Role of Climate

Both origin and evolution of tuberculosis and its pathogens (Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex) are not fully understood. The paleopathological investigation of human remains offers a unique insight into the molecular evolution and spread including correlative data of the environment. The molecular analysis of material from Egypt (3000–500 BC), Sudan (200–600 AD), Hungary (600–1700 AD), Latvia (1200–1600 AD), and South Germany (1400–1800 AD) urprisingly revealed constantly high frequencies of tuberculosis in all different time periods excluding significant environmental influence on tuberculosis spread. The typing of various mycobacteria strains provides evidence for ancestral M. tuberculosis strains in Pre- to early Egyptian dynastic material (3500–2650 BC), while typical M. africanum signatures were detected in a Middle Kingdom tomb (2050–1650 BC). Samples from the New Kingdom to Late Period (1500–500 BC) indicated modern M. tuberculosis strains. No evidence was seen for M. bovis in Egyptian material while M. bovis signatures were first identified in Siberian biomaterial dating 2000 years before present. These results contraindicates the theory that M. tuberculosis evolved from M. bovis during early domestication in the region of the “Fertile Crescent,” but supports the scenario that M. tuberculosis probably derived from an ancestral progenitor strain. The environmental influence of this evolutionary scenario deserves continuing intense evaluation

Overexpression of the ATP binding cassette gene ABCA1 determines resistance to Curcumin in M14 melanoma cells

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Bioarchaeology of Human Remains in Sicily: Laws and Guidelines

The Human Embalming Project© team is currently focusing on the study of Sicilian archival documents and human bioarchaeological material. In the best spirit of the Code of Conduct of the Paleopathology Association, we would like to share information on the laws and guidelines applied in Sicily with a broader readership of colleagues

The mummy of Rosalia Lombardo at the end of 2022: an update on the status quaestionis and a reflection on the level of evidence

In this communication we present key new evidence on the story of the famous Salafia embalming manuscript that further clarifies the genesis of a series of studies on this topic and corroborates our assumptions published in previous articles on this matter. In the second part of the paper, we provide a concise ethical analysis of Rosalia Lombardo’s case and try to establish a level of evidence in the assessment of her preservation by comparing facts and interpretations. Finally, we call for an independent assessment of the mummy’s state of preservation and the disclosure of the full content of the Salafia manuscript. Rosali

Fracking in the UK press: threat dynamics in an unfolding debate

Shale gas is a novel source of fossil fuel which is extracted by induced hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”. This article examines the socio-political dimension of fracking as manifested in the UK press at three key temporal points in the debate on the practice. Three newspaper corpora were analysed qualitatively using Thematic Analysis and Social Representations Theory. Three overarching themes are discussed: “April–May 2011: From Optimism to Scepticism”; “November 2011: (De-)Constructing and Re-Constructing Risk and Danger”; “April 2012: Consolidating Social Representations of Fracking”. In this article, we examine the emergence of and inter-relations between competing social representations, discuss the dynamics of threat positioning and show how threat can be re-construed in order to serve particular socio-political ends in the debate on fracking

Polarised press reporting about HIV prevention: social representations of pre-exposure prophylaxis in the UK press

Pre-exposure prophylaxis is a novel biomedical HIV prevention option for individuals at high risk of HIV acquisition. Although pre-exposure prophylaxis has yielded encouraging results in various clinical trials, opponents argue that pre-exposure prophylaxis poses a number of risks to human health and to sexually transmitted infection prevention efforts. Using qualitative thematic analysis and social representation theory, this article explores coverage of pre-exposure prophylaxis in the UK print media between 2008 and 2015 in order to chart the emerging social representations of this novel HIV prevention strategy. The analysis revealed two competing social representations of pre-exposure prophylaxis: (1) as a positive development in the ‘battle’ against HIV (the hope representation) and (2) as a medical, social and psychological setback in this battle, particularly for gay/bisexual men (the risk representation). These social representations map onto the themes of pre-exposure prophylaxis as a superlatively positive development; pre-exposure prophylaxis as a weapon in the battle against HIV/AIDS; and risk, uncertainty and fear in relation to pre-exposure prophylaxis. The hope representation focuses on taking (individual and collective) responsibility, while the risk representation focuses on attributing (individual and collective) blame. The implications for policy and practice are discussed

Obesity and the Risk of Papillary Thyroid Cancer: A Pooled Analysis of Three Case-Control Studies.

Background: There is a correlation between temporal trends of obesity prevalence and papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) incidence in the United States. Obesity is a well-recognized risk factor for many cancers, but there are few studies on the association between obesity and PTC risk. We investigated the association between anthropometric measurements and PTC risk using pooled individual data from three case–control populations. Methods: Height and weight information were obtained from three independent case–control studies, including 1917 patients with PTC (1360 women and 557 men) and 2127 cancer-free controls from the United States, Italy, and Germany. Body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, and body surface area (BSA) were calculated. An unconditional logistic regression model was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and confidence intervals (CIs) with respect to risk of PTC, adjusted by age, sex, race/ethnicity, and study site. Results: In the pooled population, for both men and women, an increased risk of PTC was found to be associated with greater weight, BMI, body fat percentage, and BSA, whereas a reduced risk of PTC was associated with greater height, in the pooled population for both men and women. Compared with normal-weight subjects (BMI 18.5–24.9 kg/m2), the ORs for overweight (BMI 25–29.9 kg/m2) and obese (BMI ‡ 30 kg/m2) subjects were 1.72 [CI 1.48–2.00] and 4.17 [CI 3.41–5.10] respectively. Compared with the lowest quartile of body fat percentage, the ORs for the highest quartile were 3.83 [CI 2.85–5.15] in women and 4.05 [CI 2.67– 6.15] in men. Conclusion: Anthropometric factors, especially BMI and body fat percentage, were significantly associated with increased risk of PTC. Future studies of anthropometric factors and PTC that incorporate intermediate factors, including adiposity and hormone biomarkers, are essential to help clarify potential mechanisms of the relationship