Ancient tooth DNA reveals how ‘cold sore’ herpes virus has evolved

Teeth from long-dead people and animals are divulging the history of modern-day pathogens.

Ancient DNA extracted from the teeth of humans who lived long ago is yielding new information about pathogens past and present.

In one of the latest studies, researchers uncovered and sequenced ancient herpes genomes for the first time, from the teeth of long-dead Europeans. The strain of herpes virus that causes lip sores in people today — called HSV-1 — was once thought to have emerged in Africa more than 50,000 years ago. But the new data, published in Science Advances on 27 July1, indicate that its origin was much more recent: around 5,000 years ago during the Bronze Age.

The findings hint that changing cultural practices during the Bronze Age — including the emergence of romantic kissing — could have factored into HSV-1’s meteoric rise.

This and other studies related to tooth-extracted DNA are leading to surprising insights into our shared history with disease, says Christiana Scheib, an archaeomolecular biologist at the University of Tartu in Estonia. “All of the pathogens we have today were once novel infections,” she says. “It’s important to study ancient DNA so we can understand these past experiences and keep future generations safe from epidemics.” Teeth are treasure chests for ancient DNA because of their ability to protect biological molecules from degradation. In the past decade, scientists have used increasingly powerful sequencing technologies to reconstruct the genomes of long-dead humans and animals — the oldest being a mammoth that died 1.6 million years ago — using DNA found in their teeth.

2 posted on 08/24/2022 3:46:17 PM PDT by Alas Babylon! (Rush, we're missing your take on all of this!)

Ivermectin= no more herpes.

Ick! I don’t care where it came from or how you got it.

Just get away from me, You! *SHUDDER*

5 posted on 08/24/2022 4:44:05 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )

6 posted on 08/24/2022 6:54:16 PM PDT by ptsal (Vote R.E.D. >>>Remove Every Democrat ***)

To: 240B; 75thOVI; Adder; albertp; asgardshill; At the Window; bitt; blu; BradyLS; cajungirl; ...

Herpes -- the only real permanent pandemic.

The other GGG topics added since the previous digest ping, chrono sort:

7 posted on 08/27/2022 8:56:19 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)

“ Is that a cold sore or Are you herpes to see me?”

Ok that was a bad one. I’ll be leaving now. 😏

9 posted on 08/27/2022 10:56:02 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)

10 posted on 09/03/2022 4:54:28 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)

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