Our new paper is out! Our review explores the current evidence for ancient pathogen genomics in Africa, highlights major knowledge gaps, and discusses future directions for the field. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 🌍🦠🧬 Congrats to Maja and co-authors! 🎉👏🎊 #AncientDNA #Paleogenomics #Africa

Great talk by Andrea Soler i Núñez at #SMBE2026 on AMY1 CNVs and starch adaptation, highlighting the importance of controlling for demography in adaptation associations. Paper available on BioRxiv! doi.org/10.64898/202...

The Schlebusch Group had a great time at #ICP2026 in Stockholm! Several group members attended, and Maja Vukovikj presented her poster, Ancient Pathogen Genomics in Africa. Great work, Maja! 👏 #AncientDNA #Palaeogenomics

Excited to share our new paper in Communications Biology! We generated >1000 new complete mitochondrial genomes from understudied regions in sub-Saharan Africa, providing an updated overview of maternal genetic diversity and demographic history across the continent. www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Revisiting the African mtDNA landscape through complete mitochondrial genomes - Communications Biology

A study provides an updated, continent-wide portrait of African human mtDNA diversity, sharpening mtDNA-based demographic inferences regarding the Niger-Congo-associated and Bantu-associated demograph...

nature.com

📢 Our aDNA study has been published today in @natcomms.nature.com! A great collaboration with Ricardo Rodríguez, Anders Götherström, Carina Schlebusch & team. 𝘈𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘐𝘣𝘪𝘻𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘥. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#Call for #Applications: #HumanPast #SCAS #Fellowships 2027-28 for both #early-career and senior #interdisciplinary researchers. Deadline: 1 June 2026. More information on our web: shorturl.at/VAAfl #humanpast #opportunity #genetics #archaeology #linguistics #prehistory @haam-community.bsky.social

We have a new preprint! - "Ancient Pathogen Genomics in Africa – Current Evidence and Future Directions" A review of current evidence, challenges, and opportunities for studying past epidemics and host–pathogen evolution using ancient DNA from African contexts. www.preprints.org/manuscript/2...

New preprint! with @a-solernunez.bsky.social Rethinking a textbook example of human adaptation "AMY1 copy number evolution in light of demographic history" Once population structure is accounted for, the classic starch–agriculture narrative becomes much less clear www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Exciting new #aDNA study on genetic relatedness in Neolithic hunter‑gatherer co‑burials is now published in #ProcB @royalsociety.org 🏺🧬🧪 Great team involving our own T. Mattila, M. Fraser, J. Koelman, M. Jakobsson, @trstrstrs.bsky.social and H. Malmström royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

Genetic relatedness mattered in the co-burial ritual of Neolithic hunter–gatherers

Abstract. Kin relations among past societies can offer valuable information about the social dynamics of the population. Genetic data from prehistoric huma

royalsocietypublishing.org

New preprint on #aDNA 🧬 from Iberian sheep 🐑 by our former PhD student @hjorvik.bsky.social "Seven Millennia of Human Exploitation drove genomic Changes in Iberian Sheep" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

📣 The @scilifelab.se #ddls postdoc (2yrs) offers a great community + training + all social benefits! Happy to discuss your own project ideas! I also have some ideas on ARGs, pangenomes or biobank-scale datasets 🧬🐏🧪🖥️ Deadline is Mar 31 but some admin things need to be handled well in advance!

Torsten Günther@trstngnthr.bsky.social · 7mo ago

SciLifeLab has opened a call for #postdoc fellows in Data-Driven Life Science. We would be happy to host such fellows! Get in touch if you are interested in applying with a project on the evolution of humans and domestic animals using ancient and/or modern DNA 🧪🏺 www.scilifelab.se/data-driven/...

This July 26-31, we are organizing two sessions at the 2026 PanAfrican Archaeological Association conference in Maputo, Mozambique 🇲🇿🏺🧬🦷🌍 We are hoping that you will be interested in submitting an abstract! (see descriptions below) > Abstract deadline: March 30th > Website: panaf2026moz.com

Check this out! #Panaf2026 #conference Discovering #African #Archaeology and #Heritage Without Borders, 26-31 July 2026, Maputo, #Mozambique. Abstract submission until 30 March 2026. Share! panaf2026moz.com #humanpast #linguistics #genetics #panafrican #interdisciplinary @haam-community.bsky.social

PANAF2026

panaf2026moz.com

Our new ancient DNA paper has just been published! We present 28 new genomes from southern Africa - several of them high-coverage whole genomes. Exciting to be moving towards population-level representation of ancient southern African genetic diversity! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Homo sapiens-specific evolution unveiled by ancient southern African genomes - Nature

The genomes of 28 ancient southern African individuals dated to between 10,200 and 150 years before present offer insights into the evolution of Homo sapiens.

nature.com

#Vacancies: we are looking for not just one but three #postdoctoral researchers interested in bridging #genetics, #archaeology and #linguistics in exploring the #humanpast. shorturl.at/B3Qdd @haam-community.bsky.social @cschlebu.bsky.social

Postdoctoral position in Palaeo-population genomics at the Center for the Human Past - Uppsala University

Postdoctoral position in Palaeo-population genomics at the Center for the Human Past, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University

shorturl.at

Come join us! There are still five days left to apply for this computational postdoc position 👇🏼

Human Evolution Research Program Uppsala University @humanevouu.bsky.social · 11mo ago

🚨 Join us in Uppsala and the lab of @trstngnthr.bsky.social as a 2 year fully funded bioinformatics postdoc with all Swedish social benefits etc!🧪 The project involves modern and #aDNA 🧬 in humans and sheep 🐑 to study adaptation. Application deadline: Oct 21st www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...

Our new paper is out! 🪶 “The coevolution of languages, peoples & environments in Central Africa’s Kwilu-Kasai region since ~1000 BCE” revisits Jan Vansina’s ideas using new linguistic, archaeological & genetic data - revealing the region was a hub of Bantu diversification. doi.org/10.1016/j.qe...

The coevolution of languages, peoples and environments in Central Africa’s Kwilu-Kasai region since ∼1000 BCE: A dialogue with Jan Vansina

In this article, Jan Vansina’s essay on the deep-time population history of the Kwilu-Kasai region, now more than half a century old, is revisited thr…

sciencedirect.com

Application deadline in less than a week! Apply to join the Uppsala Human Evolution team!

Human Evolution Research Program Uppsala University @humanevouu.bsky.social · 11mo ago

We are recruiting an associate professor (senior lecturer) at our program in Human #Paleogenomics and #PopulationGenetics. Come and join the Uppsala team! Please see the ad for more information. Application deadline: Sept 30st. www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...

🚨 Join us in Uppsala and the lab of @trstngnthr.bsky.social as a 2 year fully funded bioinformatics postdoc with all Swedish social benefits etc!🧪 The project involves modern and #aDNA 🧬 in humans and sheep 🐑 to study adaptation. Application deadline: Oct 21st www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...

Postdoctoral position in Population Genomics - Uppsala University

Postdoctoral position in Population Genomics, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University

uu.se

We are recruiting an associate professor (senior lecturer) at our program in Human #Paleogenomics and #PopulationGenetics. Come and join the Uppsala team! Please see the ad for more information. Application deadline: Sept 30st. www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...

Associate Professor in Human Paleo- and Population Genomics - Uppsala University

Associate Professor in Human Paleo- and Population Genomics, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Faculty of Biology, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University

uu.se

Despite our name, we are not just working on humans! @germanha.bsky.social et al find traces of a rock dove 🕊️ (the wild relatives of domestic pigeons) hybrid zone during the Green Sahara and suggest that Western African pops represent a separate species 👇🏼 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Gone With the Wind: Exploring a Vanished Rock Dove, Columba Livia, Hybrid Zone in the Sahara Desert

In this study, we tested the hypothesis of the existence of a hybrid zone between two differentiated rock dove lineages, which may contribute significantly to their divergence. By analyzing newly gen...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

New paper on reference/mapping bias, its impact on estimating ancestry proportions and a a genotype likelihood to adjust for it in #aDNA studies: doi.org/10.1093/g3jo... by @trstngnthr.bsky.social et al

Estimating allele frequencies, ancestry proportions and genotype likelihoods in the presence of mapping bias

Abstract. Population genomic analyses rely on an accurate and unbiased characterization of the genetic composition of the studied population. For short-rea

doi.org

The Iceman Ötzi's genome was one of the first ancient human genomes sequenced. Now our former postdoc Myriam Croze et al present the population dynamics in his Alpine region from the Mesolithic to the Bronze Age 🧪🏺 Fun collaboration with Valentina Coia and others at EURAC doi.org/10.1038/s414...

Genomic diversity and structure of prehistoric alpine individuals from the Tyrolean Iceman’s territory - Nature Communications

Here, the authors perform genomic analysis of prehistoric individuals from the Italian Alps, to reveal a genetic shift from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic and genetic continuity from the Neolithic to...

doi.org

I'm thrilled to announce that our featured article, "Herders from the Green Sahara", was published in the 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵 magazine. Another great collaboration with Viktor Černý and Carina Schlebusch. Free access here: livejohnshopkins-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/person...

A big congrats to Imke Lankheet + co-authors for this new publication on genetic ancestry in the South African Coloured population. We reveal fine-scale regional differences in SAC, shaped by complex history and social factors @schlebuschgroup.bsky.social bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

Wide-scale geographical analysis of genetic ancestry in the South African Coloured population - BMC Biology

Background The South African Coloured (SAC) population, a prominent admixed population in South Africa, reflects centuries of migration, admixture, and historical segregation. Descendants of local Kho...

bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com

Thrilled to announce that Routledge has published our book chapter in #OpenAccess. This chapter is part of an outstanding 740-page book that examines the early events of the Bantu expansion in Africa using multidisciplinary perspectives, including genetics. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-...

The Early Bantu Expansion into Central Africa | 9 | New Data and Insig

Central Africa hosts populations characterised by diverse linguistic, cultural, and genetic backgrounds. In this study, we have generated new genome-wide

taylorfrancis.com

Great to attend the #HumanEvo25 conference with Cesar Fortes-Lima and @a-solernunez.bsky.social, who gave an excellent talk and poster presentation representing the Schlebusch group and @humanevouu.bsky.social!

A popular science feature now available on our recently published Fulani study in The Conversation - Africa!

The Conversation Africa@africa.theconversation.com · last yr.

Genetic insights into the Fulani people not only illuminate their biological history but also enrich our understanding of their cultural and historical narratives. theconversation.com/fulani-new-s... #ScienceAndTech #Fulani

We have a new preprint! Mapping and analyzing nearly 5,000 full mitogenomes across Africa. First major update on mtDNA distribution since Salas et al. 2002, "The making of the African mtDNA landscape." Congrats to Imke Lankheet and thanks to all collaborators! 📄 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Revisiting the African mtDNA Landscape: A Continental Update from Complete Mitochondrial Genomes

Africa harbors the richest diversity of mitochondrial DNA lineages, reflecting its central role in human evolutionary history. Early studies of mtDNA variation provided the first genetic evidence for ...

biorxiv.org