Forager and farmer evolutionary adaptations to malaria evidenced by 7000 years of thalassemia in Southeast Asia

Pathogen prospecting of museums: Reconstructing malaria epidemiology

Malaria is a disease of global significance. Ongoing changes to the earth's climate, antimalarial resistance, insecticide resistance, and socioeconomic decline test the resilience of malaria prevention programs. Museum insect specimens present an untapped resource for studying vector-borne pathogens, spurring the question: Do historical mosquito collections contain Plasmodium DNA, and, if so, can museum specimens be used to reconstruct the historical epidemiology of malaria? In this Perspective, we explore molecular techniques practical to pathogen prospecting, which, more broadly, we define as the science of screening entomological museum specimens for human, animal, or plant pathogens. Historical DNA and pathogen prospecting provide a means of describing the coevolution of human, vector, and parasite, informing the development of insecticides, diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.

Genes and environment: An old pair in a new era

What is the relationship between our genes and the environment we live in with regard to health? Like the debate about nature or nurture in the determination of our personality and behavior, the issue of genes and environment has been discussed intensely in the last two centuries. Is it Darwin or Lamarck who is right about the basic determinants of our health, especially as we age in a rapidly changing environment? Evolutionary biology as proposed by Darwin with natural selection at its core may not be able to explain almost instant adjustments of phenotypic traits to the pressures of the environment. Epigenesis, a concept that dates from Aristotle, provides a mechanism for the environment to affect variation in genetic traits that may become heritable. Indeed, Lamarck first described the inheritance of acquired characteristics. Thus, it appears that in contemporary genetics, both Darwin and Lamarck are right: environmental pressures may affect our genes through epigenetics, in ways that allow for inheritance of the changes, a Lamarckian concept; however, evolution through natural selection is the basis for incorporation (or rejection) of new traits and their sustained inheritance, a Darwinian concept. In this review, we present the synthesis of Darwin's and Lamarck's theories, the only way to understand how our health, and that of our progeny, responds to challenging and fast-changing environmental cues. In addition, we present other examples of environment-driven changes in disease frequency or expression.

Prevalence and genetic analysis of triplicated α-globin gene in Ganzhou region using high-throughput sequencing

α-globin gene triplication carriers were not anemic in general, while some studies found that α-globin gene triplication coinherited with heterozygous β-thalassemia may cause adverse clinical symptoms, which yet lacks sufficient evidence in large populations. In this study, we investigated the prevalence and distribution of α-globin gene triplication as well as the phenotypic characteristics of α-globin gene triplication coinherited with heterozygous β-thalassemia in Ganzhou city, southern China. During 2021-2022, a total of 73,967 random individuals who received routine health examinations before marriage were genotyped for globin gene mutations by high-throughput sequencing. Among them, 1,443 were α-globin gene triplication carriers, with a carrier rate of 1.95%. The most prevalent mutation was αααanti3.7/αα (43.10%), followed by αααanti4.2/αα (38.12%). 42 individuals had coinherited α-globin gene triplication and heterozygous β-thalassemia. However, they did not differ from the individuals with heterozygous β-thalassemia and normal α-globin (αα/αα) in terms of mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) levels. In addition, heterogenous clinical phenotypes were found in two individuals with the same genotype. Our study established a database of Ganzhou α-globin gene triplication and provided practical advice for the clinical diagnosis of α-globin gene triplication.

Technical note: The use and misuse of threshold diagnostic criteria in paleopathology

Weighted threshold diagnostic criteria approaches have emerged for diseases that involve skeletal/bony tissue that are readily diagnosed in the field of paleopathology such as Vitamin C deficiency (scurvy), Vitamin D deficiency (rickets) and treponemal disease. These criteria differ from traditional differential diagnosis in that they involve standardized inclusion criteria based on the lesion's specificity to the disease. Here I discuss the limitations and benefits of threshold criteria. I argue that while these criteria will benefit from further revision such as inclusion of lesion severity, and the incorporation of exclusion criteria, threshold diagnostic approaches have considerable value in the future of diagnosis in the field.

Human femur morphology and histology variation with ancestry and behaviour in an ancient sample from Vietnam

BACKGROUND

There is a genetic component to the minimum effective strain (MES)-a threshold which determines when bone will adapt to function-which suggests ancestry should play a role in bone (re)modelling. Further elucidating this is difficult in living human populations because of the high global genetic admixture. We examined femora from an anthropological skeletal assemblage (Mán Bạc, Vietnam) representing distinct ancestral groups. We tested whether femur morphological and histological markers of modelling and remodelling differed between ancestries despite their similar lifestyles.

METHODS

Static histomorphometry data collected from subperiosteal cortical bone of the femoral midshaft, and gross morphometric measures of femur robusticity, were studied in 17 individuals from the Mán Bạc collection dated to 1906-1523 cal. BC. This assemblage represents agricultural migrants with affinity to East Asian groups, who integrated with the local hunter-gatherers with affinity to Australo-Papuan groups during the mid-Holocene. Femur robusticity and histology data were compared between groups of 'Migrant' (n = 8), 'Admixed' (n = 4), and 'Local' (n = 5).

RESULTS

Local individuals had more robust femoral diaphyses with greater secondary osteon densities, and relatively large secondary osteon and Haversian canal parameters than the migrants. The Migrant group showed gracile femoral shafts with the least dense bone made up of small secondary osteons and Haversian canals. The Admixed individuals fell between the Migrant and Local categories in terms of their femoral data. However, we also found that measures of how densely bone is remodelled per unit area were in a tight range across all three ancestries.

CONCLUSIONS

Bone modelling and remodelling markers varied with ancestral histories in our sample. This suggests that there is an ancestry related predisposition to bone optimising its metabolic expenditure likely in relation to the MES. Our results stress the need to incorporate population genetic history into hierarchical bone analyses. Understanding ancestry effects on bone morphology has implications for interpreting biomechanical loading history in past and modern human populations.

Climate change, human health, and resilience in the Holocene

Climate change is an indisputable threat to human health, especially for societies already confronted with rising social inequality, political and economic uncertainty, and a cascade of concurrent environmental challenges. Archaeological data about past climate and environment provide an important source of evidence about the potential challenges humans face and the long-term outcomes of alternative short-term adaptive strategies. Evidence from well-dated archaeological human skeletons and mummified remains speaks directly to patterns of human health over time through changing circumstances. Here, we describe variation in human epidemiological patterns in the context of past rapid climate change (RCC) events and other periods of past environmental change. Case studies confirm that human communities responded to environmental changes in diverse ways depending on historical, sociocultural, and biological contingencies. Certain factors, such as social inequality and disproportionate access to resources in large, complex societies may influence the probability of major sociopolitical disruptions and reorganizations-commonly known as "collapse." This survey of Holocene human-environmental relations demonstrates how flexibility, variation, and maintenance of Indigenous knowledge can be mitigating factors in the face of environmental challenges. Although contemporary climate change is more rapid and of greater magnitude than the RCC events and other environmental changes we discuss here, these lessons from the past provide clarity about potential priorities for equitable, sustainable development and the constraints of modernity we must address.

Taking Sides: Asymmetries in the Evolution of Human Brain Development in Better Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder

Confirmation from structural, functional, and behavioral studies agree and suggest a configuration of atypical lateralization in individuals with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). It is suggested that patterns of cortical and behavioral atypicality are evident in individuals with ASDs with atypical lateralization being common in individuals with ASDs. The paper endeavors to better understand the relationship between alterations in typical cortical asymmetries and functional lateralization in ASD in evolutionary terms. We have proposed that both early genetic and/or environmental influences can alter the developmental process of cortical lateralization. There invariably is a “chicken or egg” issue that arises whether atypical cortical anatomy associated with abnormal function, or alternatively whether functional atypicality generates abnormal structure.

Pandemics, past and present: The role of biological anthropology in interdisciplinary pandemic studies

Biological anthropologists are ideally suited for the study of pandemics given their strengths in human biology, health, culture, and behavior, yet pandemics have historically not been a major focus of research. The COVID‐19 pandemic has reinforced the need to understand pandemic causes and unequal consequences at multiple levels. Insights from past pandemics can strengthen the knowledge base and inform the study of current and future pandemics through an anthropological lens. In this paper, we discuss the distinctive social and epidemiological features of pandemics, as well as the ways in which biological anthropologists have previously studied infectious diseases, epidemics, and pandemics. We then review interdisciplinary research on three pandemics–1918 influenza, 2009 influenza, and COVID‐19–focusing on persistent social inequalities in morbidity and mortality related to sex and gender; race, ethnicity, and Indigeneity; and pre‐existing health and disability. Following this review of the current state of pandemic research on these topics, we conclude with a discussion of ways biological anthropologists can contribute to this field moving forward. Biological anthropologists can add rich historical and cross‐cultural depth to the study of pandemics, provide insights into the biosocial complexities of pandemics using the theory of syndemics, investigate the social and health impacts of stress and stigma, and address important methodological and ethical issues. As COVID‐19 is unlikely to be the last global pandemic, stronger involvement of biological anthropology in pandemic studies and public health policy and research is vital.

Hydatid disease (Echinococcosis granulosis) diagnosis from skeletal osteolytic lesions in an early seventh-millennium BP forager community from preagricultural northern Vietnam

OBJECTIVES

Con Co Ngua is a complex, sedentary forager site from northern Vietnam dating to the early seventh millennium BP. Prior research identified a calcified Echinococcus granulosis cyst, which causes hydatid disease. Osteolytic lesions consistent with hydatid disease were also present in this individual and others. Hydatid disease is observed in high frequencies in pastoralists, and its presence in a hunter-gatherer community raises questions regarding human-animal interaction prior to farming. The objective of this article is to identify and describe the epidemiology of hydatid disease in the human skeletal assemblage at Con Co Ngua.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

One hundred and fifty-five individuals were macroscopically assessed for lesions. Of these, eight individuals were radiographed. Hydatid disease was diagnosed using a new threshold criteria protocol derived from clinical literature, which prioritizes lesions specific to the parasite.

RESULTS

Twenty-two individuals (14.2%) presented with osteolytic lesions consistent with hydatid disease, affecting the distal humerus, proximal femur and forearm, and pelvis. Seven individuals radiographed (4.5%) had multilocular cystic lesions strongly diagnostic for hydatid disease. All probable cases had lesions of the distal humerus. The remaining lesions were macroscopically identical to those radiographed and were considered possible cases.

DISCUSSION

While hydatid disease has previously been found in pre-agricultural communities, the high prevalence at Con Co Ngua is non-incidental. We propose that the presence of wild canids and management of wild buffalo and deer increased the risk of disease transmission. These findings further reveal subsistence complexity among hunter-gatherers living millennia prior to the adoption of farming in Southeast Asia.