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Oldest human viruses found in Neanderthal DNA.	 Source: IRStone/Adobe Stock

50,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Remains Reveal Oldest Human Viruses

Analysis of Neanderthal skeleton remains from 50,000 years ago found 2 years ago in Russia’s Chagyrskaya cave has revealed fascinating genetic data. Genetic material from three prevalent viruses...
Representative image of the impact of ancient retrovirus on evolution. Source: alexkich / Adobe Stock

Brain’s Evolutionary Explosion Linked to Ancient Retrovirus Infection

A new study has unraveled a mystery that is key to understanding the course of human and animal evolution. A team of genetic researchers from Altos Labs at the Cambridge Institute of Science in the...
Dangerous virus emerging from permafrost. Source: lukjonis / Adobe Stock.

The Permafrost is Melting, Releasing Deadly Viruses (Video)

The Arctic's permafrost is thawing due to human-induced climate change , resulting in dire consequences. In Siberia, a mysterious anthrax outbreak claimed lives and led to the burning of thousands of...
Top image: Colony of microbes, representational image. Source: iarhei / Adobe Stock

What Could Go Wrong?! 48,500-Year-Old Siberian Virus is Revived

The world’s oldest known frozen and dormant virus has been revived in a French laboratory leading many to express concerns about the dangers of bringing to life ancient microbes. The virus was...
Study has found that human herpes was spread by kissing throughout history. Source: boyloso / Adobe Stock

Human Herpes Linked to Emergence of Kissing in the Bronze Age

It is generally accepted among historians that kissing had no one point of origin, but the habit began as a human trend in different regions. The earliest known written record of romantic saliva...
Do You Have the Good or Bad Covid-19 Neanderthal Genes?

Do You Have the Good or Bad Covid-19 Neanderthal Genes?

Back in 2020 researchers claimed that they had discovered a Neanderthal Covid gene which decreased our ability to fight the virus SARS-CoV-2 that causes Covid-19. Now a new research project in Japan...
Archaeology shows the damaging impact of pandemic outbreaks and how the ancient Africans dealt with them. From social distancing to more extreme measures of burning settlements, what lessons can be applied today?    Source: Fxquadro / Adobe stock

Archaeology Shows How Ancient African Societies Managed Pandemics

Every so often, a pandemic emerges that dramatically alters human society. The Black Death (1347 - 1351) was one; the Spanish flu of 1918 was another. Now there’s COVID-19 . Archaeologists have long...
Left: Florence Nightingale inspects a hospital ward during the Crimean War. ( Wellcome Images / CC BY 4.0).   Right: Portrait of Florence Nightingale from Carte de Visite. (H. Lenthall / Public domain)

A History of Nursing Heroes from Florence Nightingale to Coronavirus

By Leslie Neal-Boylan / The Conversation Nurses are heroes of the COVID-19 crisis. May 12 is International Nurses Day, which commemorates the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the first “professional...
Medieval town of Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.             Source: Gaschwald / Adobe Stock

Medieval Europe’s Waves of Plague Also Required an Economic Action Plan

Kriston R. Rennie / The Conversation The Black Death (1347-51) devastated European society. Writing four decades after the event, the English monk and chronicler, Thomas Walsingham, remarked that “so...
Representation of an Irish holy well. Source: Michal / Adobe stock

Believers Flock to Irish Holy Wells Seeking Solace From Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has led many people to seek comfort in a variety of ways. Some have returned to traditional customs and beliefs. In Ireland many people are making a pilgrimage to holy wells...
Ancient Mill Back in Action to Meet Coronavirus Demand

Ancient Mill Back in Action to Meet Coronavirus Demand

In Britain , a historic and ancient mill, that dates back a millennium is once more producing flour after 50 years. The Sturminster Newton Mill is milling flour to meet soaring demand during the...
Amid coronavirus lockdowns and closures, you can spend your extra time in one of the virtual museums worldwide. (Main: Natural History Museum in London entrance. Inset: Closed sign.) Source: kmiragaya & Julistock / Adobe stock

Lockdown is the New Norm, But All is Not Lost As Virtual Museums Open

With UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson instructing the closure of museums and galleries across the UK, one by one their doors have shut this week after stringent new ‘lockdown’ measures were...
Representation of ancient Greece stoning the vulnerable. Source: Alonso de Mendoza / Public Domain.

Ancient Greeks Purged City-States of Disease and the Most Vulnerable

Meghan Henning & Candida Moss / The Conversation With the spread of the coronavirus , the world is becoming pointedly aware of the extent to which human beings are interconnected. The rapid...
Depiction of the Olympic torch. Source: vectorfusionart / Adobe stock

Olympic Torch Ceremony Spells Trouble Amid Coronavirus Fears

The Olympic torch lighting ceremony has been held in Greece . This ceremony has traditionally been the count-down to the modern games and it reaffirms the connection between the ancient and modern...
Representation of a quarantine zone.           Source: James Thew / Adobe stock

Where Did the Ancient Measure of Quarantine Start?

The recent global spread of a deadly coronavirus originating in Wuhan, China, has led world leaders to invoke an ancient tradition to control the spread of illness: quarantine. The practice is first...
Representation of an ancient pandemic. Deriv: ‘Plague in Rome.’ 1869. Paris Orsay. (jean louis mazieres/CC BY NC SA 2.0) Woman in a mask worried about novel coronavirus. (Yasser Alghofily/CC BY 2.0)

Learn From History: Don’t Panic, But Prepare For Coronavirus Pandemic

The world is asking “ are we on the edge of the next pandemic?” as the new coronavirus looks set to go global and case numbers rise. But looking back at ancient pandemics, what have we learned about...
A boy with the measles. Credit: bilanol / Adobe Stock

Lungs of 2-Year-Old Reveal Ancient Origins of Measles Virus

The world’s oldest known measles sample has been discovered in the lungs of a girl who died in 1912 and scientists now suggest the ancient virus jumped from animals to humans around 300 BC, making...
Artist's representation of a scene during the Justinianic plague.

The Justinianic Plague Wasn’t as Bad as Many Scholars Think

Researchers say that claims of the Justinianic plague as a “mass killer” are wrong. It certainly had some impact, but they assert that plague outbreak, which began in the 6th century, didn’t bring...
Normal liver on the left, liver with cirrhosis on the right.

Study Reveals Hepatitis Virus has been Killing Humans Since the Stone Age

An international team of scientists led by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and the University of Kiel has successfully reconstructed genomes from Stone Age...
Salmonella bacteria, a common cause of foodborne disease, invade an immune cell.

Scientists Find DNA Evidence of the Bacteria that Almost Wiped out the Aztecs

Architectural investigations of the Grand Plaza resulted in the unexpected discovery of a large epidemic cemetery associated with the 1545-1550 cocoliztli epidemic. The cemetery was found to contain...
(B) the child’s mummified body prior to the autopsy, (C) the pockmarked face and (D) this rash as evident on the arm.

Child Mummy Unlocks a Secret by Unravelling 450 Years of the Hepatitis B Virus

Scientists examining the mummy of a child who died in the 16th century have confirmed that the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been causing human health issues for centuries. Strangely enough, it seems...
Mummy of a 900-year-old Russian "polar princess"

Viruses Sleeping in Mummies—Could Ancient Corpses Lead to Modern Epidemics?

Mummies fascinate historians, archaeologists, and anyone with antiquarian leanings. Mummies allow scientists to learn more about the diets, clothing, appearance, genetics, and general lifestyle of...
Paranthropus boisei (Forensic facial reconstruction) likely contracted the virus from eating chimpanzees.

Our Ancestors Should Have Avoided Parathropus Boisei – They Gave Us Genital Herpes

Scientists claim that they have identified the ancient hominin species that gave early humans genital herpes two million years ago. Parathropus boisei was a heavyset human-like species with a very...
Model of the Ark of the Covenant

Ark of the Covenant: Destruction, War & Plague – Part II

One of history’s most intriguing ancient mysteries remains the elusive and legendary Ark of the Covenant, also known as the Ark of the Testimony. According to Biblical sources, it was constructed...

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