Your privacy, your choice

We use essential cookies to make sure the site can function. We also use optional cookies for advertising, personalisation of content, usage analysis, and social media.

By accepting optional cookies, you consent to the processing of your personal data - including transfers to third parties. Some third parties are outside of the European Economic Area, with varying standards of data protection.

See our privacy policy for more information on the use of your personal data.

for further information and to change your choices.

Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • NEWS

Did the Black Death shape the human genome? Study challenges bold claim

An ancient-DNA study of medieval Cambridge found no sign of genes that helped people to survive the plague, casting doubt on an earlier study.
  1. Ewen Callaway
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

The Black Death in 1349, as recorded by historian Gilles le Muiset. Credit: Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy

The Black Death struck Cambridge, England, in 1349. The bodies piled up so fast — up to six in ten people died in Europe — that gravediggers struggled to keep up, and many remains wound up in mass burials.

Access options

Access through your institution

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00137-1

References

  1. Hui, R. et al. Sci. Adv. 10, eadi5903 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Klunk, J. et al. Nature 611, 312–319 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Souilmi, Y. et al. Curr. Biol. 31, 3504–3514 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Barton, A. R. et al. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.03.14.532615 (2023).

  5. Vilgalys, T. P. et al. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.04.06.535944 (2023).

  6. Hamilton, F. et al. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 110, 691–702 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Laval, G., Patin, E., Quintana-Murci, L. & Kerner, G. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.07.27.550703 (2023).

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing